Grain agreement. Erdogan "confident" of his renewal during Putin-UN meeting: Bombing Ukraine's ports threatens global food security

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday expressed confidence in ensuring that the agreement to transport grain through the Black Sea, which expired on July 17, will continue without renewal, through his expected talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in August.

This comes as Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin suggested the "possibility" of a new grain export deal between Moscow and Kiev if Russian demands were met.

Vershinin accused the Ukrainian side of using the Black Sea Grain Corridor to carry out what he described as "terrorist attacks," stressing that efforts to ensure food security can only be continued if there are results under the Istanbul agreements signed in July 2022 between the Ukrainian and Russian parties under the auspices of the Turkish United Nations.

He said his country was working on new grain export routes after Moscow withdrew from the deal earlier this week.

Global food crisis

The deal, brokered by the United Nations and Turkey, was aimed at preventing a global food crisis by allowing safe grain exports from Black Sea ports disrupted by war.

Erdogan told Turkish reporters after arriving from a regional tour: "I am confident that by discussing the details of the grain agreement with Mr. Putin, we will be able to ensure the continuity of the agreement, and the West must act within the framework of the aspirations of the Russian president."

"First of all, we will have a phone call with Putin and if he visits Turkey in August, we will discuss the agreement in detail with him, and I am confident that we will ensure the continuity of the grain agreement," he said.

British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said the Turkish president had done an important job in securing the grain transport initiative, expressing hope that Erdogan could convince Putin of the importance of the initiative.

Russia has previously said it is ready to return to the deal, which allowed the export of about 33 million tons of grain from Ukrainian ports, if its demands are "in full" implemented, stressing that Western sanctions impede the delivery of its exports of agricultural products and fertilizers.

UN warning

Meanwhile, Rosemary DiCarlo, UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, said today that Russian attacks on Ukraine's Black Sea ports carry "far-reaching risks to global food security, particularly in developing countries."

DiCarlo told the UN Security Council that threats related to the possible targeting of civilian ships in Black Sea waters, by both Russia and Ukraine, were unacceptable.

"Any risk of a widening conflict as a result of a military incident in the Black Sea – whether intentional or incidental – must be avoided at all costs, as this could lead to potentially serious consequences for all of us," she said.

UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths said the war in Ukraine "has had a huge impact on the world" beyond the country's borders and that global needs outweigh available resources.

He warned that rising global cereal prices could drive millions of people to hunger, expressing "disappointment" at Russia's withdrawal from the Black Sea grain export initiative.

He also noted that Russian strikes against port facilities in Odessa and elsewhere have damaged basic food export infrastructure.

Port Protection

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his government was continuing to work systematically to protect ports, infrastructure facilities and granaries earmarked for the grain transport initiative.

A Ukrainian presidential statement said Zelensky discussed with the army and navy commanders the preparation of a set of measures to continue the work of the grain corridor.

The statement noted that Zelensky demanded that the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry take diplomatic measures to continue the grain agreement.

Targeting ships

In response to Ukraine's warning to ships in the Black Sea, in response to Moscow's declaration of ships arriving or heading to Ukraine as legitimate military targets, the Kremlin called Kiev's remarks "dangerous."

He stressed that what he called the involvement of the Kiev regime in terrorist attacks represented a threat to navigation in the Black Sea.

He also announced that Russia was working on recommendations to reduce the risk to its ships in the Black Sea following Kiev's statements, and that Moscow would consider whether its ships in the region needed to change their routes.