West should act to meet Russia’s expectations over grain deal: Erdoğan

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has called on the Western countries to take steps for meeting the expectations of Russia for the resumption of the grain deal and informed that Ankara is intensifying its contacts with Moscow.

"We know that [Russia] has some expectations from the West. The Western nations should take action to this end," Erdoğan told reporters on his return from a three-day tour to Gulf countries and Turkish Cyprus.

Erdoğan's statement follows Moscow's decision to stop the Black Sea grain initiative because of ongoing hurdles in front of its exportation of food products and fertilizers. Russian President Vladimir Putin recently said his country would consider resumption of grain export through the Black Sea if Russia can also transport its own products to the world markets. The grain corridor was created by the efforts of Türkiye and the U.N. in July 2022, and more than 33 million tons of Ukrainian wheat, corn and other product were exported to avoid a global food crisis.

Erdoğan recalled that the termination of the grain deal will have serious impacts in the rise of food prices and hunger in many parts of the world. "We will not hesitate to take action in order to stop all these. I believe we will be able to prolong this humanitarian action after thoroughly talking with Mr. Putin," he said.

Russia says it cannot export its products because of ongoing secondary sanctions by the West on payments, insurance and shipment. It asks its agricultural bank to return to the SWIFT system and resumption of import of agricultural machinery and spare parts. It also wants to export its ammonium through a pipeline between Russia and Ukraine.

Erdoğan said Türkiye will use all the diplomatic instruments for the restart of the grain...