In Sochi, on the Black Sea coast, the meeting between President of Russia Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart TR Erdogan ended. The atmosphere between them was warm, and the Turkish president even thanked Putin for the help Russia gave Turkey during the summer fires.
The only thing they did not agree on, ie. Putin didn’t accept Turkey’s offer, it’s about stepping up the grain deal: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan failed to persuade Russian leader Vladimir Putin to return to a crucial Black Sea grain deal, and both leaders confirmed they were working on a separate plan to ship grain to those most in need African countries with financial support from Qatar.
As a result, US efforts to prioritize the sale of Ukrainian grain across the Black Sea have been dealt a blow, leaving Ukraine without the means to store unsold stocks.
🇷🇺🇹🇷 No documents are planned to be signed following the meeting between Putin and Erdogan – Dmitry Peskov told RIA Novosti.
— Shimaz Nafiz ⚛🇲🇻 (@Ahmedshimaz3) September 4, 2023
No documents are planned to be signed following the meeting between Putin and Erdogan, Dmitry Peskov told RIA Novosti.
Speaking at a press conference after the talks, Putin said he was ready to renew the previous agreement, but only if Russia’s conditions were met.
Bilateral trade between Turkey and Russia will reach $100 billion by 2023, or about 50% of Greece’s total GDP!
Russia argues that the UN-brokered agreement, along with another agreement concluded by Turkey, the UN and Ukraine in July 2022, was not implemented fairly. Moscow has said its own agricultural exports have been hampered and is particularly angered that it cannot export ammonia used to make fertilizers. Russia also said that ongoing restrictions on Russia’s access to the SWIFT financial trading system and on the insurance of its ships also hampered deliveries.
Erdogan appears to have backed Putin, saying: “We believe the initiative should be continued with correction of the shortcomings.” In addition, Erdogan has lashed out at Ukraine, saying it should be less stubborn about the grain corridor. “As the President said [Путин], especially in this situation, when Ukraine is together with Russia, in terms of joint steps, Ukraine should soften its approach. Especially at the moment,” Erdogan said after the talks.
As announced by R.T. Erdogan, the heads of the Central Banks of Turkey and the Russian Federation will hold talks at which they will discuss steps to create agreements based on national currencies.
In addition, R.T. Erdogan said that the construction of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant in Turkey is proceeding according to schedule, stressing that Turkey and the Russian Federation can reach an agreement on the construction second nuclear power plant in Turkey.
Erdogan says he discussed with Putin the construction of a new nuclear power plant in Turkey's Sinop.
The Sinop NPP will be Turkey's second, right after the under-construction Akkuyu – also mentioned by Erdogan.@IntelRepublic pic.twitter.com/gmbpBWtIOs
— Shimaz Nafiz ⚛🇲🇻 (@Ahmedshimaz3) September 4, 2023
Erdogan said he had discussed with Putin the construction of a new nuclear power plant in the Turkish city of Sinop. The Sinop nuclear power plant will be the second in Turkey, immediately after the Akkuyu nuclear power plant under construction, which Erdogan also mentioned.
Cumhurbaşkanı Erdoğan:
"Bugün yaptığımız görüşmede sayın Putin, 1 milyon ton tahılı fakir ülkelere göndermeye varız, bunu bütün lojistik çalışmalarını yaptık ve adımları atmaya hazırız dediler. Biz de üzerimize ne düşüyorsa varız."
— Journoloji (@journoloji) September 4, 2023
Erdogan: “During today’s meeting, Mr. Putin said that we are ready to send 1 million tons of grain to poor countries, we have carried out all the necessary expertise and are ready to take appropriate steps. We are doing what we must do.”
Turkey is pleased with how the volume of foreign trade with the Russian Federation is moving towards the target of $100 billion.
In turn, Putin noted that the pace of development of relations between Russia and Turkey is maintained, and added that he expects the negotiations on the creation of a gas hub in Turkey to be completed in the near future.
Cumhurbaşkanı Recep Tayyip Erdoğan:
"(Tahıl koridoru) Yapacağımız görüşmeden sonra (Putin'le) dünyaya verilecek mesaj, özellikle az gelişmiş Afrika ülkelerine yönelik bir adım, çok önemli olacak" pic.twitter.com/d2gVzngKIo
— Metin (@metin_345355) September 4, 2023
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan: “(Grain corridor) The message that will be sent to the world after our meeting (with Putin), especially the step towards underdeveloped African countries, will be very important”
In the meantime, Putin and Erdogan have agreed on another deal: Russia will supply 1 million tons of grain to Turkey at preferential prices. There, this grain will be processed into flour and then sent to Africa. The financial costs are borne by Qatar.
“We are counting on the support of six more countries that are ready to supply food to the poorest states,” Putin said. Erdogan had nothing to say about the fact that the grain deal never became a humanitarian mission. He acknowledged that 44% of the grain went to European countries. African countries received only 1 million tons of Ukrainian food. He agreed to the option proposed by Putin. “We are ready to carry out logistical work. We are ready to process a million tons of Russian grain and send this flour to the poorest African countries.”Erdogan said.
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