TÜRKIYE DETERMINED TO CONTINUE GRAIN DEAL EFFORTS: ERDOĞAN

Mon 31 October 2022:

President Recep Tayyip Erdoan stated on Monday that Turkey will press ahead with its efforts to secure the Black Sea grain export agreement despite Russian hesitancy. Moscow had earlier suspended its participation in the project.

“Even if Russia behaves hesitantly because it didn’t receive the same benefits, we will continue decisively our efforts to serve humanity,” Erdoğan said in a speech.

Moscow blamed Kyiv for an attack on its Black Sea fleet and on Saturday pulled out of a deal to allow Ukrainian grain shipments for an “indefinite term”.

Russia and Ukraine are among the world’s biggest food exporters, and a Russian blockade of Ukrainian grain shipments caused a global food crisis earlier this year.

“As it is known, about one-third of the world wheat production is carried out by Ukraine and Russia. You are the closest witness of our efforts to deliver this wheat to countries facing a threat of starvation.

“With the joint mechanism that we have ensured to be established in Istanbul, we have provided a relative reduction in the food crisis by offering 9.3 million tons of Ukrainian wheat to the service of the world,” Erdoğan said at the 8th Turkish Medical World Congress in Istanbul.

Separately, a U.N. spokesperson said the first of 40 planned ship inspections on Monday had been completed in Istanbul waters with a team of just U.N. and Turkish members, rather than the previous four-member teams including Russians and Ukrainians before Moscow’s suspension.

After Russia on Saturday announced its withdrawal from the UN-mediated Black Sea grain export agreement, Erdoan made his comments.

On July 22, an agreement was made in Istanbul by Turkey, the UN, Russia, and Ukraine to resume grain exports across the Black Sea, which had been suspended since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war in February. To manage the supplies, a Joint Coordination Center in Istanbul has been established with representatives from the three nations and the UN.

Following Russia’s pullout, Türkiye reported that National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar is still coordinating and negotiating with his counterparts to resume grain exports over the Black Sea.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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