Mon 04 September 2023:
Talks in Sochi between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan have finished after three hours, according to a report by Russian state news agency TASS.
Earlier, Kremlin spokesperson Dimitry Peskov said that no documents are expected to be signed at the end of the talks.
At the start of talks with Erdogan, Putin says the two leaders have raised relations between the two countries to a “very good, high level”.
Putin welcomed Erdogan and said they would discuss Ukraine and the Black Sea grain deal. He also said he hoped they would wrap up talks soon on creating a hub in Turkey for exports of Russian natural gas.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says in a video posted on Telegram by a Russian state media journalist that the first part of talks between Putin and Erdogan has been constructive.
The Russian state news agency RIA reported that Peskov said no documents are expected to be signed at the end of the talks.
Putin says plan to supply grain to Africa via Turkey and Qatar not an alternative to grain deal
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has said that while he is open to returning to the Black Sea grain deal once all agreements relevant to Moscow are fulfilled, supplying grain to Africa via Turkey and Qatar is not an alternative.
In August, the German daily newspaper Bild had reported that the governments of Russia, Turkey, and Qatar were preparing a new agreement on grain exports, following Moscow’s termination of the grain deal.
Putin says Russia’s gas pipelines to Turkey under constant attack
Putin has said during a news conference with Erdogan that Russia’s gas pipelines to Turkey have come under constant attack.
The two leaders discussed a solution to improve gas supply, besides discussing ways to revive the Black Sea grain export deal.
Erdogan calls on Ukraine to soften stance on Russia with regard to grain export deal
Erdogan has said he believes a solution can be found soon to revive the Black Sea grain export deal, including filling the remaining gaps.
After meeting Putin, the Turkish president also told reporters that “Ukraine needs to especially soften its approaches in order for it to be possible for joint steps to be taken with Russia”.
He also added that more grain needed to be destined for Africa rather than European countries.
Putin repeats Russian position on grain deal after talks with Erdogan
Putin has restated after meeting Erdogan that Moscow would be ready to return to the Black Sea grain deal once all agreements relevant to the accord are fulfilled.
The Russian president repeated previous criticism of the West over the deal, which Moscow quit in July.
Putin also said that the Black Sea corridors should not be used for military purposes.
Ukraine’s foreign minister expects Zelenskyy to talk to Erdogan after Sochi meeting
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has said he expects President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to talk to Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan after the latter’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi.
“I am convinced that, based on the results of Erdogan’s conversation with Putin, there will be contact between President Erdogan and President Zelenskyy,” Kuleba said in Kyiv.
“There is trust in relations between President Zelenskyy and President Erdogan.”
Abandoned deal
The abandoned deal was aimed at alleviating a global food crisis by allowing grain from Ukraine to leave ports while the conflict is ongoing.
Russia and Ukraine are two of the world’s biggest agricultural producers and key players in the wheat, barley, corn, rapeseed, rapeseed oil, sunflower seed and sunflower oil markets.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said last week that he had sent Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov “a set of concrete proposals” to revive the deal.
But Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on Saturday that Russian demands implied by the agreement had yet to be implemented under the previous deal. She did not give details.
Since quitting the grain deal in July, Russia has targeted Ukrainian ports with missile and drone strikes and threatened to treat all vessels on the Black Sea as potential military targets.
Ukraine has announced a “humanitarian corridor” as an alternate route. It hugs the coast of neighbouring Romania and Bulgaria.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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