Sergei Lavrov in Ankara to plead the application of the Russian section of the agreement on the export of cereals
The head of Russian diplomacy, Sergei Lavrov, is due to discuss Friday in Turkey the future of the agreement on Ukrainian grain exports of which Ankara is one of the promoters. Mr. Lavrov, who arrived Thursday evening, will be received by his counterpart Mevlüt Cavusoglu before a press conference at midday, according to the Turkish authorities.
An official told Agence France-Presse, on condition of anonymity, that Mr. Lavrov would also be received by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, campaigning for his re-election on May 14.
Russia and Turkey are acting together on several international issues and Moscow is emphasizing the need to “synchronize watches” with Ankara, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.
Among the items on the agenda, “the application of the cereals agreement” Ukraine in which Mr. Erdogan was personally involved when he signed in July 2022 in Istanbul. The agreement, which allows Ukrainian cereals to be exported via the Black Sea despite the war, was extended on March 19.
But Moscow offered 60 days rather than the initially agreed tacit extension of 120 days, insisting on respecting the other part of the agreement, which concerns its own fertilizer exports. Theoretically, these products, which are essential to world agriculture, do not fall under the Western sanctions imposed on Moscow since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. But they are in fact hindered.
Turkey has managed since the beginning of the conflict to maintain relations with Ukraine and Russia. “Despite the deterioration of the international situation, the Russian-Turkish dialogue continues, mainly at the level of heads of state”, recalls the Russian ministry. Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Vladimir Putin met four times last year and talk regularly by phone, the last time on March 25.