U.S. welcomes Turkey’s efforts to restore grain deal – State Department

The U.S. State Department has welcomed Turkey’s efforts to renew an agreement on grain exports from Ukraine via the Black Sea. This was reported by CNN.

“We welcome the efforts of Turkey and other countries to convince Russia to return to the agreement. We are working with the United Nations and Turkey, both of which have worked very hard to make BSGI (Black Sea Grain Initiative) possible and functional,” a State Department spokesman said.

The State Department made this statement despite the lack of major breakthroughs as a result of the meeting between President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President Vladimir Putin.

The State Department added that Russia’s decision to end its participation in the initiative “harms communities vulnerable to food insecurity around the world.”

As a reminder, Turkey and the UN propose to ease sanctions against Russia in exchange for its return to the grain deal. Turkey’s Foreign Minister said at a press conference with his Russian counterpart Lavrov that the UN has prepared a new package of proposals and that they consider them a suitable basis for restoring the grain corridor.

Tags: Black Sea grain deal, Turkey, USA