Turkish president says phone calls with Putin on resumption of grain deal will continue

By Muhammed Enes Calli

ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkish President Erdogan on Monday said he will continue phone conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin about resuming the Black Sea grain deal in order to help least-developed African countries.

He repeated that Putin told him the West had not kept its promises on the grain corridor, a deal with Ukraine and Russia brokered last year by Türkiye and the UN.

"Initially, we talked about sending 1 million tons of grain. In our meeting with Lavrov, we – Qatar, Türkiye, and Russia – specifically planned to send 1 million tons of grain to underdeveloped African countries. We will take steps to increase these exports that we intend to carry out."

Under plans outlined earlier, the Russian grain would go to Türkiye, where it would be made into flour, and then sent to needy African countries. Qatar would aid in the financing.

Erdogan said he will request an increase in the amount of 1 million tons of grain from Putin, adding: "Of course … the West also needs to fulfill its responsibilities."

"We proposed to alleviate the least-developed African countries by boosting this amount," he said, explaining that he would discuss this with Putin over the phone.

Türkiye will be present at every negotiating table as a stabilizing force to prevent the world from being dragged into new energy and food crises, said Erdogan, adding that the nations of the world, especially the people of Western countries, should know that Türkiye is the only country striving to prevent a world food crisis.

"It will also be one of the main agenda items at the UN General Assembly” later this month, he said. “I will extensively discuss the efforts our country has made on this matter there as well."

- Trade routes, economic ties

He added that during his visit to New York for the UN, he will meet with many firms that have investments in Türkiye. "We will have direct discussions with them."

"In the upcoming period, with concrete steps such as the establishment of a natural gas hub in Türkiye, the global price of natural gas will be determined in Türkiye."

At the G-20 summit, he discussed with South Korea’s president the building of a third nuclear power plant in Türkiye, following the Russian-built Akkuyu plant and a second planned one, Erdogan said.

He added that an India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, the subject of a pact signed at the weekend G-20 summit, cannot happen without Türkiye, as the most suitable route from East to West must go through Türkiye.

During the summit, a memorandum of understanding was signed between the EU and seven countries to build an economic corridor linking Europe with the Middle East and India via rail and shipping lines.

The multinational railway and maritime project signed between India, the US, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), France, Germany, Italy and the EU aims to connect India to the Middle East and Europe to enhance trade, provide energy resources, and develop digital connectivity.

While the signatory countries did not commit to a binding financial obligation, they agreed to prepare an action plan for the establishment of the corridor within two months.

On relations with Egypt, Erdogan said they will work to double Türkiye’s trade volume with Egypt and revitalize the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council.

Improving Türkiye's relationship with Egypt may lead to positive outcomes in many regional issue areas, especially the Syrian war, said Erdogan.