Ukrainian, Indonesian leaders discuss continuation of grain deal, G20 summit

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a phone conversation with his Indonesian counterpart Joko Widodo on Thursday, during which they discussed the importance of continuing the Black Sea grain deal.

“Had a call with President of Indonesia Joko Widodo. We discussed the importance of continuing the Grain Initiative. Ukraine is ready to continue to be the guarantor of global food security. Attention was also paid to preparations for the G20 Summit,” Zelenskyy said on his Twitter account following the meeting.

The talk between the two leaders comes a day after Widodo held a similar phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"In the context of ensuring global food security, Vladimir Putin outlined Russia's principled approaches to implementing the Istanbul package agreements regarding the export of Ukrainian grain from the Black Sea ports and unblocking the export of Russian agricultural products and fertilizers to world markets," a Kremlin statement said.

Meanwhile, Widodo welcomed Russia’s decision to rejoin the initiative in a tweet.

The Russian Defense Ministry announced on Wednesday that Moscow is returning to the implementation of the Black Sea grain corridor deal reached this July.

Türkiye and Russia announced Moscow's return to the deal following mediation by Ankara and the UN.

Putin said that Russia had suspended its participation in the deal due to Ukraine's attacks on the infrastructure and its Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol, adding that “after receiving the necessary guarantees from the Ukrainian side that the humanitarian route will not be used for military purposes, Russia resumes the implementation of the grain deal.”

The upcoming G20 summit will take place in the Indonesian city of Bali on Nov. 15-16.