President Erdogan And Putin's Meeting In Sochi Today Is Important For The Recovery Of The Black Sea Grain Agreement

JAKARTA - President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's meeting and his colleague Vladimir Putin in Sochi today will focus on the issue of the Black Sea seed deal, as Turkey seeks to invite Russia to restore the deal, senior Ankara official said.

"We are playing a major role here. We see strong support from around the world for realizing this grain corridor," said Turkey's Chief Advisor to Foreign Policy and Security President, Akif Cagatay Kilic, in an interview on television channel A Haber.

"The current status (grain agreement) will be discussed at a summit on Monday. We are careful, but we look forward to achieving success, as this is a situation affecting the whole world," continued Kilic.

Ankara acknowledged the technical complexity surrounding the agreement, especially regarding Russian grains and payment mechanisms, Kilic said.

"This problem also involves international payment systems such as SWIFT, which poses various challenges," continued Kilic.

"Here, the decision of the Russian leader is very important. I believe that a bilateral meeting between President Erdogan and Putin will play the most important role in this matter," he said.

It is known that Russia and Ukraine agreed on a Black Sea Grain Agreement brokered by Turkey and the United Nations, allowing the export of grains from Ukraine to safely even though the war has been raging since the February 2022 Moscow invasion.

After being extended several times, Russia decided not to extend and exit the deal on 17 July. Instead, a number of points of agreement regarding Russia have not been implemented.

Since then, Russia has stepped up attacks on Ukrainian export facilities in the Black Sea and alternatives.

Most recently, Russian drones hit the port infrastructure of the Danube River, which is very important for Ukrainian grain exports, injuring at least two people in an attack on the southern part of the Odesa region on Sunday, Ukrainian officials said.

The Danube River has been Ukraine's main route to export grains since July, when Russia exited the Black Sea deal.