Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan met with Russia’s Vladimir Putin in Sochi on Monday. Erdogan reported after their meeting that Russia is willing to revive the Black Sea grain deal it quit in July. The original grain deal was brokered by Turkey and the United Nations.
Erdogan advised that Ukraine should soften its negotiating stance and export more grain to Africa over Europe. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Kyiv will not change its position but will take Erdogan’s account under advisement. Putin added that the deal can only be revived when the West stops restricting Russian agricultural exports, and signed a separate memorandum with the United Nations. Russian agricultural workers have said that while Russian food and fertilizer exports are not included in Western sanctions, the logistics and financial support behind such transactions are. One of Putin’s stipulations is that the Russian Agricultural Bank be reconnected to the SWIFT international financial system. The EU blocked Russia from SWIFT in June 2022. Moscow also reported that it is finalizing talks with six African nations to supply each with up to 50,000 tonnes of grain for free.
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