Erdogan-Putin parleys over Russian grain sales and mediation with Kiev

Ankara: Türkiye, though an old NATO member is maintaining an open link with Russia since the Ukraine war started about a year ago.

On Monday President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to discuss export to African Nations. Ankara’s efforts to mediate between Kiev and Moscow are also going on, the Turkish presidency said in a statement.
In a phone conversation, the two leaders discussed the “grain corridor and the export of ammonia, as well as concrete steps to produce flour in Türkiye from the Russian grain and send them to the African countries in need,” according to the statement.
Erdogan reiterated that Ankara was “ready to undertake the task of facilitating and mediating for the achievement of a lasting peace between Russia and Ukraine.”
In July last year, Russia and Ukraine separately signed a document in Istanbul with Türkiye and the United Nations on grain and fertilizer exports from Ukraine and Russia to ensure supplies to global markets amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Türkiye has been acting as a mediator between Russia and Ukraine since their conflict broke out in February 2022. (UNI XINHUA)