Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to discuss the possibility of a new Ukraine Black Sea grain deal during Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to the country.
The Kremlin leader is expected to arrive in Turkey on Feb. 12 to meet with Erdogan, which would mark the Russian strongman's first trip to a NATO ally since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine that began in February 2022.
Talks on New Ukraine Grain Deal
During an interview, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said that there are currently efforts to find "new methods" to transport Ukrainian grain to the world markets. He noted that the previous grain deal worked within a certain mechanism.
The official said that now, it has been seen that there is a possibility of going with a different mechanism and that recent efforts are being made to "concretize this possibility." The announcement comes as Ankara has been trying to persuade Russia to return to the previous Black Sea Grain Initiative.
In July 2023, Moscow pulled out of the agreement a year after it was first implemented. The accord was brokered by the United Nations and Turkey in an effort to provide safe passage to exports that were coming from Ukrainian ports, as per Reuters.
On the other hand, Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, said that discussions were underway to revive the grain deal. However, Moscow has repeatedly said that it has no plans to reinstate the agreement.
Fidan noted that some ships had managed to transport Ukrainian grain from the Black Sea despite the lack of an accord. The Turkish foreign minister said that they want to make clear the de-facto situation with the new mechanism.
Prior to the latest developments, Ukraine was able to reopen the Greater Odesa ports without the involvement of third parties. This was only possible thanks to military factors, particularly the attack on a Russian landing ship that happened in August last year.
As of December 2023, there were more than 7 million tons of cargo that have been exported from the Pivdennyi, Odessa, and Chornomorsk ports since Aug. 8, 2023. Out of this total, 5 million tons are agricultural products from Ukrainian farmers, according to Yahoo News.
Russia-Turkey Relations
Despite ongoing geopolitical tensions, Turkey has successfully maintained trade and political relations with both Ukraine and Russia. Ankara has allowed the latter to evade Western sanctions while also continuing arms sales to Ukraine.
Fidan outlined the primary topics that the two leaders are planning to discuss during the historic visit. These include energy cooperation, the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip, Black Sea trade routes, and the complex situation in Syria.
Russia and Turkey are on opposing sides of the Syrian conflict, particularly concerning the presence of PKK Kurdish forces in the nation's northeast region. The most recent face-to-face meeting between Erdogan and Putin was in September 2023 in Sochi, Russia.
Despite infrequent in-person meetings, the two leaders have maintained regular communication through mobile talks. Previous disputes, including the Syrian buffer zone and accusations of non-compliance, add layers of complexity to the diplomatic relations between the two countries, said WION News.
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