There is no evidence that Turkey, Qatar and Russia will launch a new “grain deal” without Ukraine – Ambassador Bondar

Ukraine has no confirmation that the trilateral agreement with Turkey and Qatar to send 1 million tons of grain to the poorest countries proposed by Russia will be implemented.

This was stated by Ukraine’s Ambassador to Turkey Vasyl Bodnar at a press conference titled “Putin-Erdogan Meeting: Results and Decisions for Ukraine” at the Ukraine-Ukrinform Media Center, the agency’s correspondent reports.

The diplomat noted that the Qatar-Russia-Turkey trilateral initiative has been under development for several months, and Ukraine has draft documents that were proposed by the Russian side. According to him, this is an attempt by Russia to come up with a humanitarian initiative and replace the grain corridor with its own proposals.

“If you look at it rationally, this is a proposal for 1 million tons of grain, which will in no way replace the volumes that were supplied within the grain corridor. As President Erdogan said, this initiative would have the right to life when discussing the restoration of the grain corridor. However, we have no confirmation that this initiative will be implemented and that the parties have already signed a relevant document,” Bodnar said.

He also informed that Ukraine is currently negotiating with the Turkish side to find out what it is ready for in terms of resuming the “grain initiative” and ensuring global food security.

As reported, Russia has offered Turkey a million tons of its grain at a reduced price. This deal is to be financed by Qatar. Subsequently, the grain will be processed at Turkish enterprises and shipped “to the most needy countries.”

On September 4, the presidents of Turkey and Russia met in Sochi, where the main topic was the resumption of the Black Sea Grain Initiative. No agreement was reached on this issue.

Tags: Turkey, Black Sea grain deal, Russia