Putin and Erdogan in Tehran to discuss blocking Ukrainian cereals

Published on: 07/19/2022 – 09:14 Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is due to meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Tehran on Tuesday, on the sidelines of a tripartite summit with Iranian head of state Ebrahim Raïsi. On the program of this meeting, Syria but also the question of the resumption of grain exports from Ukraine. The Russian and Turkish presidents are talking Tuesday, July 19 in Tehran about mechanisms to allow grain exports from Ukraine, blocked in this country by the Russian military offensive at the risk of causing a world food crisis. Negotiations involving Moscow, Kyiv, Ankara and the UN are to take place in the coming days in Turkey, after talks progressed on July 13. “Firstly, we are ready to continue work in this direction, secondly, this theme will be discussed by the presidents” Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said Monday, according to Russian agencies, the Kremlin’s diplomatic adviser, Yuri Ushakov, on the eve of a meeting between the two leaders in Iran. The Russian ministry of Defense had indicated on Friday that a “final document” would be ready shortly to allow the export of cereals from Ukraine. The agreement negotiated through the UN aims to bring out through the Black Sea some 20 million tons of cereals stuck in Ukrainian silos because of Russia’s offensive in Ukraine. It must also facilitate Russian exports of cereals and fertilizers, affected by Western sanctions affecting Russian logistics and financial chains. Russian and Ukrainian agricultural products are essential to prevent food crises from multiplying in the world. Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar confirmed on Monday that “an agreement in principle (…) has been reached” with Ukraine and Russia for the establishment of a secure maritime corridor allowing the transport of cereals .Priority to the Syrian file However, this summit will be mainly dominated by Syria where Russia, Turkey and Iran represent major players in the war which has ravaged the country since 2011, Moscow and Tehran supporting the regime of Bashar al-Assad and Ankara supporting rebels. The three countries launched the so-called Astana process in 2017, officially aimed at bringing peace to Syria. Since the end of May, Turkey has been threatening to launch a new military operation in northern Syria, where it seeks to create a ” security zone” of 30 kilometers at the border. Tehran and Moscow have already expressed their opposition to such an offensive. During the meeting, “we will be able to establish the important objective of the Astana meeting, which was to reduce tension in the conflict zones in Syria Iranian Foreign Minister Amir-Abdollahian said in a video posted on his ministry’s website. “During my recent trip to Ankara and Syria, I carried the president’s message that we can manage the security crisis between Syria and Turkey.” The tripartite summit will be an opportunity for Recep Tayyip Erdogan to reunite with Vladimir Putin for the first time since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Turkey, a member of NATO, has tried to maintain contact with the two countries, offering its mediation on several occasions. This meeting also comes a few days after the visit of the American president Joe Biden to the Middle East, where he traveled to Israel and Saudi Arabia, two countries hostile to Iran. With AFP