After refusing to extend the 2022 grain deal, Russian President Vladimir Putin might be open to sitting at the negotiations table again.
Russia might be open for discussions on the reopening of the grain deal with Ukraine, president Vladimir Putin said on Monday in the Black Sea town of Sochi. The statement came after a face-to-face meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
"We will be ready to consider the possibility of reviving the grain deal and I told Mr. President about this again today,” Putin said in a press conference after the summit, “We will do this as soon as all the agreements on lifting restrictions on the export of Russian agricultural products are fully implemented."
Putin told Erdogan that his hands were tied by Western sanctions on agricultural products, a major reason for getting out of the deal in the first place.
Erdogan said Turkey has prepared a new proposition, drafted together with the United Nations. He added that, while no agreement has been signed yet, he believes a solution will be reached “soon”.
Vladimir Putin concluded with a sober assessment of the Ukrainian counter-offensive, calling it a failure. He also noted that Russia never “backed off” negotiations with Ukraine. Putin did not mention, however, that the only condition considered acceptable to Russia during the negotiations was Ukrainian territorial loss.
Putin also did not mention the recent Ukrainian conquest of Robotyne, a strategically important village in the Zaporizhzhia region.
The grain deal
Russia and Ukraine are two of the world’s largest producers of grain, wheat , and other crucial staples like barley, maze, sunflower seeds, and oil. Their exports feed Western countries as well as war-thorn third-world nations like Yemen, Nigeria and Ethiopia.
The sudden halt in cereal exports had far and wide effects on the world economy, at best raising food prices and at worst increasing global hunger.
In July 2022, at the height of the Russian occupation of Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations brokered a grain corridor between the two warring countries. Turkey imports 71.7% of its wheat from Russia and 15.5% from Ukraine. Turkey also controls the Dardanelles Strait, a strategically crucial location that connects the Black and Mediterranean seas.
Turkey is also a diplomatic bridge between Russia and the West. Although being a member of NATO and a drone provider to Ukraine, Turkey is a close Russian ally in many international dossiers.
According to the original deal, Russian and Ukrainian cargo ships could operate in a narrow corridor, crossing the Dardanelles Strait and continue their commercial operations. Russia, however, refused to extend the deal in July 2023, restarting the global food crisis.
Thankfully, Russia seems to be returning to the negotiating table with Turkish support.
