Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin will host Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan for talks in Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi on Monday, the Kremlin announced Friday, just over six weeks after Moscow broke off a deal partly brokered by Ankara that allowed Ukrainian grain to reach world markets despite the 18-month war.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced the talks on Friday, ending weeks of speculation about when and where the two leaders might meet next as international efforts continue to patch up the Black Sea Grain Initiative which got grain and other food to Africa, the Middle East and Asia where hunger is a growing threat.
Turkey, together with the United Nations, brokered a deal in July 2022 that allowed Ukraine to ship grain and other foodstuffs from three Black Sea ports. A separate memorandum between the UN and Russia, agreed at the same time, pledged to overcome obstacles to Moscow's shipment of food and fertiliser to world markets.
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However, Russia pulled out of the deals earlier this year, claiming that its conditions hadn't been met. On Thursday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov hosted his Turkish counterpart for talks in Moscow. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sent Russia a new proposal in hopes of reviving the deal but it didn't satisfy Moscow's demands, Lavrov said then.
Lavrov said he had given Ankara a list of actions that the West would have to take in order to resume Ukrainian grain and fertiliser shipments. Talks between Putin and Erdogan could help unlock that. The agreement had allowed Ukraine to ship almost 33,000 tons of grain at a time of growing global hunger. (AP)
