Ankara has received Moscow’s detailed explanation regarding reasons for non-renewal of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Friday.
“We are making serious efforts to renew the grain deal, Turkiye is in in favor of bringing Russia back to the table… During a conversation with [Russian Foreign Minister Sergey] Lavrov, we received detailed explanations regarding the reasons for Moscow’s position,” Fidan told a press conference.
Russia, Ukraine, Turkiye and the United Nations struck a deal to provide a humanitarian maritime corridor for ships with food and fertilizer exports from Ukrainian Black Sea ports on July 22, 2022. However, while Moscow has been performing its part of the accord, obligations to lift sanctions imposed on Russian vessels engaged in grain and fertilizer exports were not met.
Moreover, problems with insurance and servicing of ships in ports were not addressed. Banks did not issue loans to purchasers of Russian grain and denied bank guarantees, often referring to the danger of Western sanctions.
Furthermore, the grain transported via the Black Sea barely reached the poorest countries, which was one of the main points of the deal. Only 2.6% of the deliveries were sent to countries in need, while 80% of supplies were heading to nations with high or above-average incomes.
Source: Sputnik
