Minister: Erdogan to discuss 'new mechanism' for Ukrainian grain exports via the Black Sea with Russia during Putin's visit

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will discuss a new mechanism that allows Ukrainian grain to be exported across the Black Sea with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin during the latter's upcoming visit to Turkey, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Sunday, UNN reports citing Reuters.

Details

Putin is expected to visit Turkey on February 12 to meet with Erdogan, a Turkish official said earlier, and it will be the first trip by a Russian leader to a NATO ally since Moscow's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Attempts are being made to find new methods of transporting Ukrainian grain to world markets, Fidan said in an interview with the private TV channel A Haber, the newspaper reports.

"The previous grain agreement worked within a certain mechanism, now it has become clear that there is an opportunity to use another mechanism, and efforts are being made to specify this opportunity," Fidan said, adding that Erdogan will raise the issue in his meeting with Putin in Turkey.

Fidan said that some vessels managed to transport Ukrainian grain from the Black Sea even without a deal.

"We want to clarify this de facto (situation) with a new mechanism," he said.

Addendum

According to the publication, Ankara tried to convince Russia to return to the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which Moscow withdrew from in July 2023, a year after its implementation. The agreement was brokered by the UN and Turkey to ensure the safe passage of exports from Ukrainian ports.

Kyiv, according to Reuters, claimed that negotiations were underway to renew the agreement, but Moscow said there was no prospect of its renewal.