Russian President Vladimir Putin has ignored Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğanʼs request to negotiate a return to the "grain agreement".
This was reported by the American newspaper The Wall Street Journal with reference to diplomats.
Erdoğan has repeatedly said in recent weeks that he plans to speak with Putin to revive the deal, but no phone conversation has yet taken place, diplomats noted. According to them, Turkish officials continue to press the issue through various channels in the Kremlin.
According to analysts and diplomats, Russia abandoned the "grain agreement" after Erdoğan took a series of steps that show his foreign policy is "turning away from Russia and looking towards the West." So, for example, Erdoğan angered Russia when he gave commanders from "Azovstal" to Ukraine and did not mind approving Swedenʼs accession to NATO.
- On July 27, at a meeting with the leaders of six African countries, Putin said that he was ready to provide them with tens of thousands of tons of grain for free. The UN called it a "handful of donations".
- On July 17, 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. The ports were under fire for almost a week.
- After the conclusion of the Black Sea Agreement, Ukraine will have to rely almost entirely on expensive routes through the European Union. Ukraine asked the EU to help cover additional costs, but there is currently no free money in the European Union.