Turkish president will discuss limiting Ukrainian grain destinations with Russian counterpart

Erdoğan blames Putin's gas cuts on Europe

photo_camera AFP PHOTO / SERVICIO DE PRENSA PRESIDENCIAL TURCO - Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) shakes hands with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (left) in Sochi on 5 August 2022

Relations between Moscow and Ankara seem to be getting closer and closer. This time Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that he will discuss with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan limiting the destinations of ships exporting Ukrainian grain, arguing that they do not reach "the poorest countries".

This was stated by the Russian leader at the 7th Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok. "Excluding Turkey as a mediator, practically all the grain leaving Ukraine does not go to the poorest countries, but to Europe. Only 2 out of 87 ships go to developing countries. 60,000 tonnes out of 2 million", he told the parliamentary session of the event. "I will consult with President Erdogan. After all, it was he who worked for the Ukrainian grain export mechanism," he added. 

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The agreement, which was signed on 22 July in Istanbul through the mediation of Turkey and the United Nations, has allowed the export of Ukrainian grain and agricultural products across the Black Sea to a total of 20 recipient countries, 11 of them non-European. Putin's counter-argument, however, served as a precedent for him, saying that just as European countries in previous centuries 'acted as colonisers, they are still acting in the same way now'.

For his part, the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, hoped that these shipments would contribute to alleviating the countries that "are facing the worst of the world food crisis". In doing so, Guterres warned of the possibility of war creating an unprecedented wave of hunger and misery. 

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But the Ukrainian grain is not the only element used by the Moscow-Ankara axis to lash out at the West; so too are economic sanctions on Russia. "Europe reaps what it has sown", said the Turkish leader, arguing that it is the West that has led Putin to use gas as a weapon against sanctions imposed for the invasion of Ukraine.

"Of course Europe reaps what it has sown. Of course Europe's anti-Putin stance, the sanctions imposed, have brought Putin, whether he wants to or not, to the point of saying 'if you do that, I do this'," Erdogan told a press conference at Ankara airport before flying to Sarajevo on an official trip. "Putin uses all the possibilities and weapons at his disposal. One of the most important is natural gas," added the Turkish head of state, warning Europe about the harshness of winter. 

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This is not the first time that Turkey has tipped the balance between the Kremlin and the West. Although Ankara has spoken out clearly against Russia's invasion of Ukraine, it has not signed up to European sanctions against Moscow. NATO member Turkey has also criticised arms shipments to Ukraine and continues to promote trade, tourism and investment with Russia.

Moreover, Erdogan has on several occasions held close meetings with Putin. The latest was in the city of Sochi, which he visited two weeks before meeting his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymir Zelenski, in the city of Lviv, reinforcing his role as mediator in the conflict.

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For his part, Putin denounced the West's "sanction fever" and its attempts to "impose models of behaviour on other countries, depriving them of sovereignty and subjecting them to its will". The Russian leader considered that these actions are simply due to the "dominance of the United States in the global economy and politics".

Furthermore, within the framework of the Eastern Economic Forum, the Russian leader announced that he is going to make "Teutonic changes" in the system of international relations, increasing the role of countries that have become "new centres of economic and technological growth".  Putin concluded his speech by saying that nobody can isolate Russia because "it is enough to look at the map". 

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These declarations were made after gas supplies to Europe were cut off for not ceasing economic sanctions, although the gas giant Gazprom blamed technical problems with the turbine. However, the company in charge of maintenance has clarified that the problem can be rectified and that there are other alternatives.

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