After talks with Russian President Putin, Turkish President Recep Erdogan told journalists about the results of the meeting, writes the Turkish publication Milliyet.
Regarding the Russian-Ukrainian war, Erdogan said: "There is no hopeful prospect of peace on the horizon." He added that Turkey will continue its diplomatic efforts.
The Turkish president announced that in September, he would discuss the "grain agreement" with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. The latter proposed a mediation mechanism: Russia requests a connection to SWIFT, and the UN instead offers to allow SWIFT transactions. The UN is also working on removing obstacles (they arose due to sanctions) in the insurance of Russian ships.
- On September 4, Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke with Putin in Sochi. Turkey and Russia did not agree on the restoration of the grain initiative.
- On July 17, 2023, the Kremlin announced 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 announced temporary sea corridors for merchant vessels. There is a military threat and mine danger on all routes. If the owner or captain of the ship 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.