Cereal day: what Putin and Erdogan came to after three hours of negotiations

By Alena Nefedova and Valentin Loginov

Russia is ready to supply up to 1 million tons of grain at reduced prices through Turkey to the World's poorest countries , however it is counting on Qatar's help to do this. Plus this will not be an alternative to the Black Sea agreement. Vladimir Putin stated following a meeting with Recep Tayyip Erdogan . So far, Moscow is preparing for free food supplies to six countries in need, but in general, it can return to the grain deal as soon as all agreements are in place and will be fulfilled. In addition, the Russiahopes for an early conclusion of negotiations on the creation of a gas hub in Turkey . According to the plan, work is also underway on the Akkuyu nuclear power plant , it is planned to launch the first power unit there next year.

Long preparation
The talks held in Sochi between Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan were one of the most anticipated events of recent weeks . The meeting took place in the sanatorium "Rus".

The Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak and the head of Rosatom, Alexei Likhachev, who have overseen one of the main nuclear projects in Turkey, the construction of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant, also arrived in the same car with the Russian president. Before the start of the official part of the negotiations, the leaders managed to talk on the porch of the sanatorium.

Even before the politicians spoke, it was clear that the focus would be on the future of the grain deal , which was agreed in Istanbul last summer. But at the initiative of Moscow, the Black Sea initiative was suspended this summer. At the same time, in the open part of the conversation, Recep Tayyip Erdogan increased the expectations of the world community, promising the world a “necessary message” following the results of the negotiations .

However, there were no resonant statements about a potential renewal of the agreement or its alternative after a three-hour meeting between the leaders. The President of Russia repeated Moscow's conditions for returning to the deal - lifting the restrictions on the export of Russian agricultural products. “ Today they will fulfill their promises - within the next few days we will return in full and will fulfill everything they want from us ,” he stressed at the final press conference.

Although the president noted that the Ukrainian side used grain corridors for terrorist attacks.

The Russian Federation has repeatedly warned that it will return to the implementation of the provisions of the Black Sea initiative only after the fulfillment of the requirements that the Russian part of the agreements provided for : reconnecting the Russian Agricultural Bank to SWIFT, restoring supplies of agricultural machinery and spare parts,the lifting of restrictions on insurance and reinsurance, lifting the ban on access to ports, resuming the operation of the ammonia pipeline Tolyatti - Odessa.

Western countries have blocked and continue to block the implementation of the grain deal in terms of ensuring the access of Russian agricultural producers to world markets, that is, they refuse to withdraw the export of our grain and fertilizers from sanctions, to resume supplies of agricultural machinery and spare parts to Russia, to remove problems with logistics and ship charter, banking services and insurance of food supplies ,” Vladimir Putin said, summing up the conversation with his Turkish counterpart.

Vladimir Putin added: Russia is expected to have a good harvest this year - the potential will reach 130 million tons of grain, of which 60 million tons can be exported. So far, the Russian Federation is ready to deliver grain free of charge to the six poorest countries in the world in the next two or three weeks .

In addition, now the Russian Federation is organizing the supply of 1 million tons of grain at a reduced price for processing in Turkey and free transportation to the poorest countries. Russia, according to Vladimir Putin, is counting on Qatar's assistance in this matter, but this will not be an alternative to the grain deal .

As a peacemaker
The talks did not go without discussing the Ukrainian crisis, given Ankara's interest in acting as a mediator of this conflict. By the way, after the start of the NVO, just in Turkey in March 2022, several rounds of Russian-Ukrainian negotiations took place, which, as Vladimir Putin said earlier, were even close to signing a peace agreement. However, later they were terminated at the initiative of the Ukrainian side. Then Vladimir Zelensky officially banned negotiations with Vladimir Putin.

• But we know that an agreement was reached through the mediation of the President of Turkey, draft documents were agreed between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations. But then Ukraine sent them to a landfill ,” the Russian president stressed at a press conference.

Vladimir Putin said that Ukraine's counter-offensive is "not a slip, it's a failure . " At the same time, according to him, Russia has never refused mediation services to resolve the situation in Ukraine.

However, the question of whether the Turkish president is suitable for the role of a mediator between the conflicting parties remains open. Because during the Ukrainian crisis, Erdogan often spoke from pro-Kiev positions: in particular, he quite loudly declares the need to respect the principle of Ukraine's territorial integrity and supports the entry of this country into NATO.

At the same time, Erdogan's ability to communicate directly with Vladimir Putin remains important for the West . In fact, of all NATO countries, the open channel for communication with the Russian leadership remains through Turkey, and this status quo seems to suit all parties to the conflict.

The choice of the time of negotiations with Putin is also not accidental - at the end of the week, a G20 summit will be held in New Delhi, at which the Turkish president will present the current positions of the Russian Federation to Western partners .

The role of a mediator in the settlement in Ukraine is very beneficial for Turkey, Dmitry Belik, a member of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, believes.

• Erdogan will in any case pursue a policy that is in line with Turkey's national interests. He builds a strategy in such a way that Ankara's benefit is dependent not on the outcome of the negotiations, but on the process itself . The position of the mediator allows you to be equidistant from both sides of the conflict, but at the same time get closer to the winning side, if necessary. Ankara calculates the risks in order to avoid scenarios that are uncomfortable for itself, and the role of an intermediary in this case is ideal, the deputy told Izvestia.

In addition to Ukraine, politicians also discussed the Syrian crisis. According to Vladimir Putin, the future of the republic should be determined by its citizens , any "ready recipes or models" cannot be imposed by other states. To launch a full-scale restoration of this country, it is necessary to achieve national reconciliation and harmony, he specified.

Step on the gas
Following the talks in Sochi, it became known that Moscow and Ankara may soon reach an agreement on the creation of a gas hub in Turkey , the idea of ​​which appeared after the explosions at Nord Stream. Vladimir Putin hopes that the relevant negotiations will be completed in the near future. This, according to him, will make the situation in the energy sector more stable and balanced.

To this end, they are already preparing to establish a joint working group to create a hub. The project is of great importance for Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan added . It is specified that Gazprom handed over to the Turkish gas company Botas a roadmap for creating a hub in the Thracian region , which is located in the European part of Turkey not far from the receiving point of the already operating Turkish Stream gas pipeline in Kiyikoy. At the same time, the Russian Federation is ready to supply gas through Turkey to other countries in transit, Vladimir Putin stressed.

The relations between Russia and Turkey are also developing steadily in the field of energy. The Russian Federation plans to launch the first unit of the Akkuyu NPP next year , a nuclear power plant being built in the republic on the basis of an intergovernmental agreement of 2010. After reaching full design capacity, more than 10% of the energy needed by Turkey will be generated at this station. The parties also discussed the construction of another nuclear power plant in the Turkish province of Sinop .

In general, Russia and Turkey continue to maintain a positive trend in terms of trade turnover. According to Vladimir Putin, last year this figure increased by 86% . The parties are moving towards the goal of reaching a trade turnover of $100 billion. In addition, the share of settlements in national currencies between the countries is growing, the Russian President specified.

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The Turkish economy has been going through hard times in recent months, and it is also beneficial for the West not to break the ties between Ankara and Moscow, Turkish political scientist Kerim Has said. The banks of the republic received fairly large loans from foreign organizations, and therefore the West benefits from economic injections into the Turkish economy from third channels. This is largely why he does not insist on Ankara joining the anti-Russian sanctions. “Funding the Turkish economy to some extent with Russian money is also in the interests of the West,” emphasizes Kerim Has.

The President of Turkey also expressed his gratitude to Russia for its assistance in eliminating the consequences of earthquakes in the republic . He expressed hope that Russia would be able to send more amphibious aircraft to Turkey to fight forest fires.
This article orginally appeared in Russian at Iz.ru and was translated and edited by Rhod Mackenzie