Russia should start exporting grain as well: Erdoğan

Russia should also be able to start grain exports as Ukraine does from its ports over a deal, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Sept. 8, noting that the Russian leader was right in his complaint that Ukrainian grain is not being delivered to poor countries.

"As of now, there is no grain shipment from Russia. There is one thing that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin is right about. The grain from the grain shipments go to the rich countries, not the poor ones," Erdoğan said at a joint press conference with his Croatian counterpart Zoran Milanović.

Putin was uncomfortable with the grain shipments to the countries which impose sanctions on Russia due to the Ukrainian war, he added.

Türkiye also wants the shipment of Russian grain to start, so that these products will be delivered to the poor countries as well, Erdoğan stated.

He will talk about these issues with Putin on the sidelines of a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Samarkand on Sept. 15-16, Erdoğan explained.

Russia and Ukraine signed a memorandum of understanding with the U.N. and Türkiye on July 22 for the resumption of grain export from Ukraine, a major grain exporter, to avoid a food crisis around the world. The operation started on Aug. 1 following the deployment of Ukrainian and Russian officials to the JCC along with Turkish and U.N. authorities.

The deal signed by Russia and Ukraine will be valid for 120 days and can be renewed if the parties do not oppose its prolongation. Ukraine is planning to export around 25 million tons of grain to the world by the end of this year.

One of the important side effects of the Russian invasion of Ukraine was the blockade of grain exports from both these countries to the world markets....

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