russia prepares “trilateral grain agreement” with friendly countries – Bild

Russia, Turkey and Qatar are working on a trilateral agreement on the export of Russian grain. It will be implemented “as a complement to the Black Sea Initiative, which makes a positive contribution to global food security.”

This is evidenced by official correspondence between the Foreign Ministry and the embassies of Russia and Turkey from July 21 to August 8, which was obtained by Bild.

Just a few days after the grain deal was finalized on July 17, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov proposed his own regime as an alternative to Ukraine for humanitarian supplies under the World Food Program.

In particular, it is proposed to supply Russian grain to poor countries, mainly in Africa. Turkey will act as an organizer, and Qatar will sponsor the supplies.

Erdogan’s foreign minister also warned his Russian counterpart that if no steps are taken on the Black Sea Initiative, there is a risk that trilateral cooperation measures will face various difficulties.

Instead of allowing Russia to simply export its own and stolen grain to poor countries, Ankara is seeking “an agreement between the UN and the Russian Federation in a package with the Black Sea Initiative with the participation of Turkey.”

“If the deal goes through with the UN’s blessing, Kyiv will have a choice. Either Ukraine agrees to the safe export of ‘Russian’ grain (i.e. grain that was also stolen in Ukraine) and stops attacks on Russian ships – or the country bears full responsibility for the growing hunger in the world. And this is despite Russia’s ongoing attacks on Ukrainian ports,” the newspaper writes.

A new agreement may be concluded this weekend in Budapest. The head of Tatarstan, Rustam Minnikhanov, has already left for Budapest, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will also arrive there.

On June 17, Russia announced its withdrawal from the grain deal. The reason for this decision, according to the Kremlin spokesman, was that the part of the agreement concerning Russia has not yet been fulfilled.

Tags: Black Sea grain deal, Russia, Turkey, grain, Qatar