New hope for the grain deal.

SGGP August 29, 2023 09:25

On August 28, Sputnik news agency, citing a source involved in the grain agreement negotiations, reported that the United Nations and Türkiye are exploring the possibility of holding talks on this issue with a Russian delegation in Istanbul, Turkey.

The cargo ship PRIMUS in the Black Sea on August 27. Photo: AP

Consider all possibilities.

On the same day, a diplomatic source in Turkey revealed that a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan was planned in Sochi, Russia, on September 4-9. President Erdogan intends to raise the issue of resuming the Black Sea grain agreement. In addition, the establishment of a gas center and the construction of the Akkyu nuclear power plant in Turkey could also be key topics of the meeting. The Turkish newspaper Milliyet reported that UN, Russian, and Turkish officials are likely to negotiate the Black Sea Grain Initiative in Istanbul. If this event is successful, negotiations involving Ukraine could follow.

The Turkish government is currently studying three scenarios for the Black Sea grain agreement, which was suspended on July 17. The first scenario assumes that the parties cannot find a compromise, leading to a more severe food crisis that threatens the interests of Russia, Ukraine, and the United States. The second scenario considers the possibility of unilaterally creating alternative routes for agricultural supplies, including transporting Ukrainian grain via the Danube River or overland routes to Europe. The third scenario assumes the resumption of the Black Sea grain corridor in the same format, immediately after certain Russian demands are met. According to the local newspaper Yeni Şafak, this is the most favorable outcome for all parties and helps avoid a more serious global food crisis.

Temporary corridor

Meanwhile, Ukraine is considering using a newly tested grain export corridor on the Black Sea to transport goods along the western Black Sea coast, near Romania and Bulgaria. An announcement from the Ukrainian Ministry of Reconstruction on August 27 stated that a second civilian cargo ship had left the southern port of Odessa and moved to safe waters. The announcement clarified: “The Liberian-flagged cargo ship PRIMUS, owned by a Singaporean operator, has left the port of Odessa. This is the second ship to use the temporary corridor for civilian vessels.” This ship was carrying steel products to Africa. On social media platform X, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov stated that the PRIMUS had been docked in the port of Odessa since February 20 last year, before the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

According to the Ukrainian Navy, the new temporary humanitarian corridor became operational on August 10th. The Ukrainian Navy stated that commercial ships stranded at Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea coast, carrying goods such as grain and other agricultural products, will utilize this corridor. Transport activities along the new corridor will be recorded by cameras installed on the ships and broadcast to demonstrate that this is purely a "humanitarian mission" with no military purpose.

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