Ukraine and Turkey are discussing the possibility of reviving the Black Sea grain agreement, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on July 21 after a telephone conversation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
"We coordinated efforts to restore the work of the Black Sea Grain Initiative. Unblocking the grain corridor is an absolute priority," Zelenskiy said.
He added that the world is once again on the brink of a food crisis due to Russia's decision to quit the deal that had allowed the safe export of Ukrainian grain through Black Sea ports.
"The threat of famine hangs over a total of 400 million people in many countries of Africa and Asia. With joint efforts, we must avert a global food catastrophe," Zelenskiy said.
Zelenskiy previously declared Ukraine's readiness to continue grain exports without cooperation from Russia. He said that Ukraine, the UN, and Turkey could jointly ensure the operation of the grain corridor and the inspection of ships.
The press service of the Turkish leader also reported that Erdogan and Zelenskiy discussed an extension of the grain export deal, Anadolu said.
Erdogan said earlier that he intends to discuss the extension of the agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin in talks next month. He has said those talks could lead to the restoration of the deal. He has called on Western countries to consider Russia's demands, which include the lifting of a ban on its banks from using the SWIFT international payments method.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington is looking to Turkey to help restart the initiative.
"We look to Turkey to play the role that it's already played, a leadership role in getting this back on track, making sure that people around the world can get the food they need at reasonable prices," Blinken said in an interview at the Aspen Security Forum in Aspen, Colorado.
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Russia's decision to suspend its participation in the deal also was discussed in a UN Security Council session on July 21.
The UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths said the consequences of Russia’s decision are that "some will go hungry, some will starve, many may die."
Griffiths told the Security Council that a spike in grain prices since Russia quit a deal "potentially threatens hunger and worse for millions of people."
U.S. Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said Russia had no legitimate reasons for quitting the deal.
"They would have you believe that sanctions have blocked their exports. That couldn't be further from the truth," Thomas-Greenfield said. "Russia is simply using the Black Sea as blackmail.... It's holding humanity hostage."
Russian Deputy UN Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy said Moscow does not object to the Black Sea deal "especially given its significance per the global food market for many states" and would return to it if its list of demands was met.
Russia's grain and fertilizer exports are not subject to Western sanctions, but Moscow said restrictions on payments, logistics, and insurance have been a barrier to shipments.
Polyanskiy told the Security Council Russia had harvested 156 million tons of grain over the past year, and exported 60 million tons. But he complained Russia operated at a loss due to lower grain prices and higher costs for cargo, foreign transactions, and imports of agricultural production machinery and spare parts.
