Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan emphasized the importance of reviving the Black Sea Grain Initiative, reiterating Türkiye's determination to contribute to efforts in this regard.
"We will continue to work on the revival of the Black Sea grain deal, which is critical for global food security and stability and peace in the Black Sea region," Fidan told a joint news conference with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Moscow on Thursday.
He noted that the United Nations prepared a new proposal package for the resumption of the Black Sea grain deal with the contribution of Türkiye.
"We believe this will provide proper grounds for resuming the deal," he said.
"Today, we held intensive consultations on both bilateral and regional issues. The revival of the Black Sea initiative was high on our agenda," Fidan noted, highlighting the sense of trust between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, which he said played a crucial role in determining the direction of bilateral ties.
"We stressed the critical role of the (Black Sea) initiative for both global food security and stability in the Black Sea region," he added.
Fidan pointed to Moscow's demands for the uninterrupted export of Russian grain and fertilizer, noting that the need to meet them was reaffirmed on Thursday.
He also said the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war continued to rise exponentially. "The course of the war also occupied an important place on our agenda."
While a very complex and laborious task, Fidan stressed that they were also working to establish a more permanent deal for Black Sea grain exports.
Responding to a question about Türkiye's efforts to revive the Black Sea grain deal, Fidan emphasized that Ankara, and especially President Erdoğan, has been in contact with all the interlocutors on the issue.
He said opportunities that may arise to make progress on reviving the initiative were being scrutinized, with the U.N. particularly engaged with important activities on the matter.
"Mr. (U.N. Secretary-General) Antonio Guterres, his team and our friends are in intensive contact. In particular, there is a process at the moment trying to better understand and meet Russia's position and demands."
Türkiye is continuing its efforts to revive the grain deal and has argued that there is no other alternative.
For his part, Lavrov said they discussed the revival of Türkiye-Syria relations, and the Black Sea grain deal in the meeting.
He noted that Russia sees no sign it will receive the guarantees it requires before resuming the deal, but can return to it "tomorrow" if Western promises to Moscow are fulfilled
Lavrov reiterated Russia's assertion that Western economic sanctions were hampering Russian grain and fertilizer exports.
He also said that a plan currently being discussed to supply one million tons of Russian grain to Türkiye at a discounted price would be on top of the grain supplies that Russia has promised to give some African countries free of charge.
Lavrov also touched on the topic of Ukraine, saying Fidan and he discussed the situation in Ukraine, during which he reaffirmed Russia's position ruling out a peace formula by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Zelenskyy's formula, which consists of 10 conditions, was laid out at the latest G-20 summit in Indonesia, with its final step being signing a peace accord. It also focuses on issues such as nuclear safety and food and energy security.
Lavrov also said Moscow is ready to increase its gas supplies to Türkiye and implement agreements between the two countries on setting up a gas hub.
"For our part, we reaffirmed Russia's commitment to all agreements on increasing natural gas exports, including through the implementation of the initiative of the heads of our states to create a single gas distribution hub in Türkiye," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said during a press conference with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan in Moscow.
Lavrov said Fidan and he also discussed a proposal by Moscow to deliver up to 1 million tons of Russian grain to Türkiye at a reduced price.
"This issue is also being discussed with the participation of our friends from Qatar, who are ready to participate in the financial aspects of this initiative," Lavrov said.
