Zelenskyy Says Discussed Grain Deal With Erdogan

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 21st January, 2023) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he has discussed with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan the possibility of expanding the grain deal to include other ports in Ukraine.

Zelenskyy held phone talks with Erdogan on Friday, discussing a range of issues, including the export of Ukrainian grain.

"We looked at the need to continue the Grain Initiative and the possibility of expanding its geography to other parts of Ukraine. We supported further action of the Ukrainian humanitarian initiative GrainfromUkraine," Zelenskyy said on his Telegram channel after the talks.

The Ukrainian president also thanked Ankara for organizing a meeting of ombudsmen of Ukraine, Turkey and Russia in Ankara earlier this month.

US Special Envoy for Global Food Security Cary Fowler said on Thursday that there had been a slowdown in grain shipments from Ukraine under the UN deal.

Fowler pointed out that just after the Black Sea grain initiative was launched in the summer of 2022, about 10 ships with grain would leave Ukraine each day, but that number was now down to two or three.

On July 22, Russia, Ukraine and Turkey signed a UN-brokered agreement to provide a humanitarian maritime corridor for ships exporting food and fertilizer from Black Sea ports, including the Ukrainian ports of Odessa, Chornomorsk and Yuzhne, amid the special military operation. The grain deal was extended in November.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said that most vessels carrying Ukrainian grain do not reach the world's poorest countries and have ended up in Europe. Putin has voiced concerns that Russian grain and fertilizer products are not entering the global markets as stipulated by the grain deal.

On January 16, Erdogan and Putin discussed by phone steps on the project of processing Russian grain into flour in Turkey and sending it to countries in need.