Politics

Turkey convinced Ukraine grain deal will continue, urges EU to do its part


The Ukraine grain deal is expected to continue, though the EU should also do its part in maintaining it, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told some of his counterparts on the sidelines of the G20 summit on Tuesday (15 November).

Read the original French article here.

At the G20 summit in Bali, global leaders were calling for the Russia-Ukraine grain deal signed in Turkey in July to be prolonged past its end-date set for 19 November, with US President Joe Biden making a formal request in a communiqué.

Prolonging the deal would indeed ensure global food security as the deal allowed 10 million tonnes of grain to be exported from the “world’s bread basket” from July to September, helping countries, particularly in Africa, deal with food shortages.

“Turkey and France will continue to work to ensure that exports continue unhindered,” Macron said on Twitter following his Tuesday meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit with Erdogan, who reportedly urged the EU to take responsibility and work towards reopening the Black Sea grain corridors.

Biden also met with Erdogan and thanked him for his efforts in renewing the deal as it is “critical to improving global food security amid Russia’s war”.

For his part, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pleaded for an “infinite” extension of the agreement.

Turkish diplomacy

The summit may result in a statement calling for the grain deal to be extended and for a clear and unanimous condemnation of Russia’s actions – though China still refuses to condemn Russia – according to information from AFP.

Besides, prolonging the grain deal would also require convincing Russian President Vladimir Putin, who decided not to attend the summit in person.

Erdogan, who managed to renegotiate reinstating the grain deal when Russia briefly withdrew from it at the end of October, is determined that the deal will be prolonged.

“I am convinced that the grain deal will continue,” he told a press conference on Wednesday (16 November).

Russia gives up obstructing grain exports

Russia said on 2 November it would resume its participation in a deal to free up vital grain exports from war-torn Ukraine after suspending it over the weekend in a move that had threatened to exacerbate hunger across the world.

Europe must do its bit

Erdogan also called on the European Union to “do its part to maintain the agreement” in a statement.

The Russia-Ukraine grain deal must be “prolonged”, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said at the summit’s launch, noting that the bloc “wholeheartedly” supports the deal.

This was reiterated by the EU’s chief diplomat Josep Borrell.

“Russia has no reasons, no legal ground to block food [from] going out from Ukraine to the international markets,” Borrell told a press conference after the EU Foreign Affairs Council on Monday.

“What Russia has been doing is illegal and affecting first [of all] the lives of people from vulnerable countries around the world.  Russia must stop weaponising food,” he added.

Russia is expected to issue a statement soon on whether it will extend the deal.

[Edited by Anne-Sophie Gayet/Alexandra Brzozowski]





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