Kremlin says Türkiye's participation in resumption of grain deal 'reason to trust the agreement'

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that Türkiye's participation in the resumption of the grain deal is the main reason why Russia trusts the agreement.

Speaking at a press briefing in Moscow, Peskov highly praised the work carried out by Ankara to get written guarantees from Kyiv on the non-use of humanitarian corridor for military purposes.

"The guarantees provided to the Turkish side, for obvious reasons, could not be provided directly to us. So, in his case, Moscow and Ankara are acting as parties to whom these guarantees are given.

"The importance of the deal is emphasized, and, of course, the work that was carried out by Ankara and personally by the Turkish military, Turkish diplomats, and President (Recep Tayyip) Erdogan deserves high praise," Peskov said.

Peskov also noted that the resumption of the deal does not mean it will be extended after Nov. 19.

"We still have to discuss the topic of extension officially, the deadline has not been reached yet, it is still working. (...) By the 19th (of November), before making a decision to continue, it will be necessary to assess the effectiveness of the implementation of the deal," he stressed.

Meanwhile, the Joint Coordination Center in Istanbul reported that the Russian delegation resumed its work and joined the inspections of ships going from and to the ports of Ukraine.

Türkiye, the UN, Russia, and Ukraine signed an agreement in Istanbul on July 22 to resume grain exports from three Ukrainian Black Sea ports, which were paused after the Russia-Ukraine war began in February. A Joint Coordination Center with officials from the three countries and the UN was set up in Istanbul to oversee the shipments.