Can Recep Tayyip Erdogan convince Vladimir Putin to return to the Ukrainian grain deal, which Russia withdrew from in July? This is in any case the objective of the Turkish president, expected Monday, September 4 by his Russian counterpart in Sochi. Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Turkey has sought to position itself as a mediator in the conflict and has every interest in reviving the agreement.
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With our correspondent in Istanbul, Anne Andlauer
Recep Tayyip Erdogan knows Sochi encounter may not be enough to convince his Russian counterpart, but the Turkish president hopes to move forward. This with a conviction, which he repeats to all parties: in the eyes of Ankara, there is no viable alternative to this agreement. In short: we must agree with Moscow so that deliveries of Ukrainian cereals via the Black Sea resume in the safest and least expensive way possible.
Similarly, if Moscow hopes to ease the obstacles to its own exports, then it will take come back sooner or later in the agreement.
Exclude neither Russia nor Ukraine: this position explains why Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomes with great reservations the Russian proposal to send one million tonnes of cereals at reduced prices to the African countries which need it the most, the all via Turkey and thanks to the financial aid of Qatar.
The ambition of the Turkish president is to organize new Russian-Ukrainian negotiations under the aegis of his country and the United Nations.
For Turkey, save the deal represents an economic challenge – the country is one of the main importers of Ukrainian cereals – but also in terms of image on the international scene.
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