Erdoğan, Guterres discuss grain deal after Russia's return

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres late yesterday (November 3) discussed the latest developments regarding the grain deal.

Erdoğan "expressed his satisfaction that the grain corridor began to resume again as a result of the diplomatic traffic carried out with Russia and Ukraine at the highest level," the Presidency Communications Directorate said on Twitter.

"President Erdoğan stated that now it is necessary to focus on extending the duration of the İstanbul Agreement," it added.

"For his part, United Nations Secretary-General Guterres also thanked President @RTErdogan for his efforts to ensure the resumption of the grain corridor.

"Addressing the issue of cross-border humanitarian aid delivered to Syria, President Erdoğan voiced his expectation for strong support for the efforts to extend the Security Council Resolution, which is set to expire on January 10."

"Russia's demands are met"

Russia decided to return to the Ukraine grain deal after its demands were met, Türkiye's presidential spokesperson has said.

"Everything is related to the war, but sending the grain is of paramount importance for everyone. For this reason, we have exerted diplomatic efforts ... over the past three or four days," İbrahim Kalın told CNN early yesterday.

Following discussions between the defense and foreign ministers of Türkiye and Russia, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke over the phone on November 1.

The next day, Russia agreed to rejoin the agreement. It had suspended its participation on Saturday, following an attack on its Black Sea fleet in Sevastopol, saying that the grain corridor was used to carry out the attack.

Ankara also contacted Ukraine during its diplomatic efforts and both sides had a constructive approach, Kalın noted.

"Suspending this agreement would cost everybody dearly. They came back to the agreement after the call between President Erdoğan and President Putin. And now we're back on track," he remarked.

Russia's Defense Ministry said on Wednesday that they reserve the right to withdraw from the agreement in case of further attacks on its Black Sea fleet.

How the Ukraine grain deal works

Russia's invasion of Ukraine led to a grain export crisis from Ukraine, one of the largest grain exporting countries in the world. Ukraine accused Russia of stealing the grain in the places it occupied in Ukraine. Turkey is among the places where the stolen grain is sold, according to officials from Ukraine.

Russia denied stealing Ukraine's grain and says the disruption in the grain shipment is caused by the naval mines laid by Ukraine off the Black Sea coasts.

After diplomatic consultations, Türkiye, the UN, Russia, and Ukraine signed a deal on July 22 to reopen three ports — Odessa, Chernomorsk, and Yuzhny — for grain that has been stuck for months because of the invasion.

On July 27, a coordination center to implement the deal opened in İstanbul.

The duty of the center is to provide safe sea transportation of grain and similar food products to be exported from Ukraine.

It consists of five representatives – both military and civilian – each from Türkiye, Russia, Ukraine and the UN.

The center registers and monitors the departure of commercial ships via satellite, internet, and other communication means, and will carry out all its activities in coordination with the parties and the UN.

The ships are be inspected by joint inspection teams at locations deemed suitable for loading at Ukrainian ports and upon arrival at ports in Türkiye.

(VK)