Russian-Turkish leaders meet Erdogan for the first time in nearly a year: the agreement on the export of agricultural products at Black Sea ports is expected to resume
According to Xinhua News Agency, Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks with visiting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the Russian Black Sea city of Sochi on the 4th. This is the first face-to-face meeting between the two leaders in the past year, and the resumption of the agreement on the export of agricultural products at Black Sea ports is the main topic of the meeting.
Erdogan said at a press conference held after the talks, “I believe that we will reach a solution that meets expectations soon.” The Russian side’s expectations have been widely known, and the shortcomings of the agreement should be made up. In order to dispel Russia’s concerns, “we have consulted with the United Nations and prepared a package of new proposals, and believe that they may achieve results.”
Erdogan said that Ukraine especially needs to ease its attitude towards Russia on the issue of resuming the agreement on the export of agricultural products at Black Sea ports so that Russia can take simultaneous actions. Moreover, Uzbekistan should export more food to African countries instead of European countries.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said in a televised speech later that day that Ukraine would not change its position, but noted Turkey’s statement on the content of the meeting between Russian and Turkish leaders. He urged Russia to return to the agreement, saying there was “no legal and political basis” for Russia to withdraw from the agreement.
Reuters reported that one of the main demands of the Russian side is to allow the Agricultural Bank of Russia to reconnect to the SWIFT system. As part of sanctions against Russia, the West excluded major Russian financial institutions from the SWIFT system in June last year.
When Putin and Erdogan jointly met with media reporters on the 4th, they said that Russia could return to the agreement on the export of agricultural products at Black Sea ports “within a few days”, but the premise is that the West stops restricting the export of Russian agricultural products.
“We will be ready to consider the possibility of reviving the agreement,” Putin said, “as soon as the content of the agreement on the removal of restrictions on the export of agricultural products to Russia is fully implemented, we will do so immediately.”
He announced that Russia will sell 1 million tons of grain to Turkey at a preferential price, which will be processed into flour by Turkey and then shipped free of charge to countries most in need, including impoverished countries in Africa. Erdogan said he hopes the two countries will work together on this. However, Putin emphasized that this cannot be regarded as a substitute for the agreement on the export of agricultural products to the Black Sea ports.
Putin also announced that Russia will start to supply and transport a batch of free food to six African countries including Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia, Central African Republic and Eritrea within two to three weeks.
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2023-09-06 01:27:00
