IRIA News

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on September 4, 2023, in the Russian city of Sochi. The two leaders discussed the possibility of reviving the Black Sea Grain Initiative after Moscow backed out of it in July earlier this year.

During the meeting, the Russian President restated his opposition to the grain deal, however, he acknowledged the possibility of reviving the deal.

“We will be ready to consider the possibility of reviving the grain deal and I told Mr. President about this again today, we will do this as soon as all the agreements on lifting restrictions on the export of Russian agricultural products are fully implemented,” Putin said after his bilateral meeting with Erdogan.

“The West continues to block the supply of grain and fertilizers from the Russian Federation to world markets,” Putin said, adding that the West had “cheated” Russia over the deal. Putin also said that the “issues related to the Ukraine crisis” were also discussed during the meeting.

Turkish President Erdogan meets Russian President Putin in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi. The meeting aims to revive the wartime Ukraine grain export deal to help ease global food crisispic.twitter.com/tNwsGiYrlg

— IRIA (@IRIA_Research) September 4, 2023

“Everyone is looking at the grain corridor issue,” Turkish President Erdogan said after meeting Russia’s Putin. “As Turkey, we believe that we will reach a solution that will meet the expectations in a short time,” he stated during the joint press conference following the meeting.

The Turkish president’s chief foreign policy and security adviser Alif Cagatay Kilic said before the two leaders’ meeting, “The current status [of the Black Sea grain deal] will be discussed at the summit… We are cautious, but we hope to achieve success because this is a situation that affects the entire world.”

Black Sea Grain Initiative

The Black Sea Grain Initiative (BSGI) was a one-year contract between Russia and Ukraine, brokered by the United Nations and Turkey in July 2022. The deal expired on July 17, 2023. The BSGI agreement was reached to alleviate a global food crisis after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Both Russia and Ukraine are major suppliers of the World Food Program (WFP), which facilitates the availability of cheaper grains for developing countries. According to the European Commission, Ukraine alone accounts for 10% of the world wheat market, 15% of the corn market, and 13% of the barley market. It is also a key global player in the market of sunflower oil. A safe passage for grain exports during the war is essential to maintain the crucial supply of grains in underdeveloped countries.

Since its implementation, the Black Sea grain deal facilitated safe exports of more than 725,000 tons of grains under the World Food Program that was used for supporting humanitarian operations in Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.

Following the expiration of the one-year-long deal, the Kremlin refused to renew the pact stating that Moscow’s demands regarding the deal were not met. Kremlin spokesperson Dimitry Peskov said at that time that Russia would “return” to the deal “immediately” if its demands about its exports were met. “Unfortunately, the part of these Black Sea agreements concerning Russia has not been implemented so far, so its effect is terminated,” he said.

More recently, the Russian government has indicated that if its demands to improve grain and fertilizer exports were met it would consider resuming the agreement.

Turkey’s mediation

Despite being a member of the NATO alliance, Turkey was one of the main brokers of the deal. Turkey has been an ongoing mediator between Russia and Ukraine since the start of the conflict in 2022. Turkey has close ties with both Russia and Ukraine. Ankara has openly opposed the Russian invasion of Ukraine while also denouncing Western sanctions on Russia.

Last week, Turkish foreign minister Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow to finalize the meeting between the two presidents.