Following a meeting with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin on Monday, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan expressed his optimism that a resolution to revive the U.N.-brokered Black Sea grain-export deal, while addressing remaining gaps, is within reach.
Erdogan, standing alongside Putin in Sochi, stated, “We believe that the initiative should be continued by eliminating its shortcomings. In this context, we prepared a package containing new suggestions in consultation with the United Nations. I think it’s possible to make progress. As Turkey, we believe that we will reach a solution that will meet the expectations in a short time.”
Turkey, a NATO member, is actively working to persuade Russia to rejoin the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which saw Moscow withdraw in July, effectively ending a year of protected grain exports from Ukrainian ports amid the ongoing conflict.
Erdogan, who has maintained a delicate balance in fostering relations with both Moscow and Kyiv since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, emphasized that the alternatives proposed to the original grain deal “could not provide a lasting solution.”
