Turkey will continue its effort despite russia's "hesitation" – Erdogan on russia's grain deal exit
Credit: TSN
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who brokered the agreement on the grain corridor, commented on the announced suspension of russia's participation in the agreement.
Erdogan made his statement at the 8th World Turkish Medical Congress, CNN Turk reports.
Erdogan emphasized the importance of the grain corridor, noting that with its help, it was possible to relatively reduce the food crisis, exporting 9.3 million tons of agricultural products from Ukraine.
"Even though russia is hesitant about the grain deal because Moscow is not given the same opportunity, Turkey will continue its efforts to serve humanity," the Turkish president said, refraining from further details.
Despite the demarche of the russian federation, 12 ships with food left Ukrainian ports on Monday.
According to the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine, representatives of the UN and Turkey are negotiating with the russian delegation and continue looking for solutions to implement the "grain initiative" fully.
According to the Joint Coordination Center (JCC) proposal, representatives of the UN and Turkey agreed to inspect 40 ships. The representatives of Ukraine accepted this proposal, and the representatives of the russian federation were informed.
Reference
In mid-October, russia threatened to leave the grain initiative. russia sent the UN a list of demands. If they are not fulfilled, it threatens to withdraw from the agreement on the grain export from the Black Sea, the validity of which expires in November.
In an interview with Reuters, this was stated by the permanent representative of russia at the UN in Geneva, Gennady Gatilov. According to him, on Wednesday, moscow sent a letter to UN Secretary-General António Guterres outlining a list of claims.
Ukraine and Türkiye have spoken in favor of extending the Grain Initiative agreement on the safe transportation of Ukrainian cereals from the country's seaports beyond November 22, when the initial deal is set to expire.
On October 29, russia announced it would suspend its participation in the UN-brokered grain export deal with Ukraine after drone attacks on the Crimean city of Sevastopol, the country's defense ministry announced Saturday.
Moscow blames Kyiv for the attacks. The Ukrainian President's Chief-of-Staff accused russia of inventing "fictitious terrorist attacks" on its own facilities in Crimea and also blamed Moscow for "blackmail."
"Nuclear blackmail, energy blackmail, food blackmail," Andrii Yermak, the head of the Ukrainian president's office, said in a post on his Telegram account.
Yesterday, October 30, the vessel IKARIA ANGEL, carrying 40,000 tonnes of grain for Ethiopia, could not leave the Ukrainian port today, as russia resumed blockade after withdrawing from the "grain deal."
Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov made the relevant statement on Twitter. "These foodstuffs were intended for Ethiopians that are on the verge of famine. But due to the 'grain corridor' blockage by russia, the export is impossible," Kubrakov noted.
