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Turkish president Erdogan instrumental in grain deal but not to blame for its collapse says Putin

June 12, 2024
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization leaders’ summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on September 16, 2022. [ALEXANDR DEMYANCHUK/SPUTNIK/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES]

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan played a significant role in concluding the grain deal. It is not Russia’s fault that this agreement was not extended. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced this on Tuesday, June 12 at a meeting with the head of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Hakan Fidan.

“President Erdogan also played a significant role in concluding the so-called grain deal. It’s not our fault that, unfortunately, it was not extended,” RIA Novosti quotes the words of the head of state. 

The grain deal was concluded on July 22, 2022. It involved the export of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea and the lifting of restrictions on the export of Russian food and fertilizers to world markets. The Russian side has repeatedly noted that the terms of the agreement concerning Russia were not fulfilled, and Ukrainian grain was sent not to needy countries in Africa, as was initially said, but to Europe. As a result,  Russia withdrew from the grain deal  a year after its conclusion

Russia Desk

Russia Desk

The Russia Desk leads The Eastern Herald's coverage of Russia, the war in Ukraine, NATO's eastern flank, and the post-Soviet space. The desk has reported continuously on the Russia-Ukraine conflict since its full-scale expansion in February 2022 and verifies through Kremlin statements, NATO briefings.

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