Turkey does not see any alternative to the original grain agreement

Turkey does not see any alternative to the original grain agreement and is doing everything possible to restore it, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said during a visit to Kyiv.

“We know that alternative routes [for the supply of grain] are now being sought, but we do not see an alternative to the initial initiative, because new routes are associated with risks,” he told reporters. “The revival of this initiative is a priority for Turkey.”

As the Wall Street Journal previously reported, the United States is developing an alternative route for Ukrainian grain exports, according to which the grain would be sent via the Danube to Romanian ports on the Black Sea, and then to other destinations.

As stated by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, the restoration of the grain agreement was one of the key topics during the negotiations with the head of the Turkish Foreign Ministry.

“We have a general approach here: we are working, making every effort to restore the functioning of this initiative,” he said.

Earlier, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Hakan Fidan could go to Moscow in the near future to discuss the renewal of the agreement from which Russia withdrew.

He also said he plans to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in September, schedule permitting.

Tags: exports, grain, Black Sea, ports, Danube, alternative routes, Ukraine, Russia