Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday, August 8, that the revival of a deal with Russia to allow Ukrainian grain exports, brokered by Ankara and the UN, "depends on Western countries which must keep their promises".
"I think a solution can be found," Erdogan added, referring to a recent telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who refused to extend the accord.
Turkey was a key player in the now-collapsed deal that allowed for safe passage of Ukrainian grain shipments via the Black Sea.
The accord, brokered by Ankara and the United Nations in July 2022, ended last month after Moscow refused to renew it.
Last month, during a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Erdogan announced that Putin would visit Turkey in August.
But Moscow was annoyed when Zelensky returned from Istanbul with five top commanders from the Azov regiment of Ukraine, who were supposed to have remained in Turkey until the end of the conflict under a prisoner exchange deal with Moscow.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at the time that it was "a direct violation" of the agreement with Turkey.
Turkey, a NATO member, has managed to maintain friendly ties with both Russia and Ukraine throughout the war.
Ankara has shied away from Western sanctions imposed on Russia, but has supplied arms to Ukraine.
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Comments (2)
Turkey controls access from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea. That is why they have not been kicked out of NATO.
It has one foot in Europe and the other in Russia.
There is not much we can do about it, that is just the way the situation is.
soo.. Turkey is back to backing Russia? Some ally....
@Jack Dunster,
Turkey has always been the Trojan horse inside NATO. It has access to western military information, & is under the NATO umbrella, yet it blackmailed Europe by unleashing hordes of Muslim economic migrants mixed with genuine refugeees, & threatening to send more unless it was given sackloads of money. Turkey still considers Turkish emigrants in Europe its own people, & subjects them to political meddling & threats.
It buys Russian weapons, & plays both sides for its own advantage. Because it has to be handled carefully, it’s been given carte blanche to destroy Kurdish people not just in Turkey, but Iraq and Syria as well. It removed the international status of the Haghia Sophia, built as a cathedral, and for a second time, turned it into a mosque. I strongly suspect Russia pays Swedish Qur’an-burners, then Turkey claims to be offended & delays Swedish access to NATO, as Russia wished.