Title: Turkey and Russia Seek to Revive Black Sea Grain Deal Amidst Heightened Tensions
Subtitle: Talks between Presidents Erdogan and Putin raise hopes for resolving a global food crisis
Date: September 4, 2022
Location: Sochi, Russia
In an attempt to address a global food crisis exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin held discussions in Sochi on Monday to revive the Black Sea grain deal. This agreement, brokered by the United Nations and Turkey, helped facilitate the export of Ukrainian grain to world markets through the Black Sea. However, Russia withdrew from the deal in July, citing obstacles to its own exports and insufficient grain shipments from Ukraine to countries in need.
During their meeting, Putin expressed openness to negotiations on the grain deal, acknowledging Erdogan’s efforts to convince Russia to rejoin the agreement. Erdogan emphasized the urgency of resolving the grain corridor issue and noted that the outcomes of their meeting could have significant implications for the global community, particularly African countries.
The 2021 Black Sea grain deal aimed to alleviate the global food crisis by allowing Ukraine, a major agricultural producer, to export large quantities of grain. However, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2021 exacerbated existing tensions, prompting Russia to withdraw from the deal. Both countries play crucial roles in the wheat, barley, maize, rapeseed, rapeseed oil, sunflower seed, and sunflower oil markets.
Ahead of the talks, Ukrainian officials accused Russia of launching an air attack on one of Ukraine’s key grain exporting ports overnight. However, Romania denied Ukraine’s claim that Russian drones fell on its territory and detonated. Such incidents reflect the increased tensions and ongoing conflicts in the region.
Russia has proposed returning to the grain deal if the West fulfills a separate memorandum agreed upon with the United Nations to facilitate Russian food and fertilizer exports. While Russian exports of food and fertilizer are not subject to Western sanctions, Moscow argues that restrictions on payments, logistics, and insurance have hindered shipments. In response, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres presented Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov with concrete proposals to revive the agreement.
One key demand from Russia is the reconnection of the Russian Agricultural Bank to the SWIFT international payments system, from which the European Union disconnected it in June 2022 as part of broader sanctions. Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova suggested that the agreements made during the last iteration of the deal were not implemented. Russian state television also emphasized that promises made to Russia must be fulfilled.
Russia’s blockade of Ukrainian Black Sea ports and its threats to treat vessels as potential military targets after withdrawing from the U.N.-backed deal have further strained relations. In response, Ukraine announced a “humanitarian corridor” along the western Black Sea coast, which has since enabled vessels to exit the Black Sea via Istanbul.
Furthermore, Russia has proposed supplying up to 1 million tonnes of Russian grain to Turkey at reduced prices. Turkish processing plants would handle the grain, which would then be shipped to countries most in need.
The talks between Erdogan and Putin have raised cautious optimism about the future of the Black Sea grain deal and its potential to alleviate the global food crisis. These discussions mark an important moment in the ongoing efforts to resolve tensions between the two countries and address the urgent need for food security worldwide.
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[Source: Reuters]