The President of Turkey met with Putin. They talked about the “grain initiative”

Today, September 4, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met with Putin in Sochi. At the meeting, they talked about renewing the "grain initiative". The President of the Russian Federation said that "the Russian side is open to these negotiations."

This was reported by the Turkish state agency "Anadolu".

According to Erdoğan, the outcome of the talks will be a "message" to the world "regarding a step towards underdeveloped African countries."

Erdoğan and Putin also discussed trade between Turkey and Russia (currently $62 billion, with plans to increase this figure to $100 billion a year), the transition to mutual payments in the national currency, and the creation of a Russian gas hub in Turkey.

• On July 17, 2023, the Kremlin informed that it was withdrawing from the "grain agreement". Already on July 19, Russian troops carried out a missile and drone attack on the port infrastructure of Odesa, targeting the grain and oil terminals. After that, Russia began systematically shelling Ukraineʼs grain infrastructure.
• On August 10, Ukraine informed about temporary sea corridors for merchant vessels. There is a military threat and mine danger on all routes. If the shipʼs owner or captain officially confirms readiness to leave, the ship will be allowed to the route. Under such conditions , on August 16, the first merchant ship with more than 30 000 tons of food left the Odesa port.