The leaders of Russia and Ukraine held separate talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday about plans to reopen safe grain routes through the Black Sea. Erdogan’s phone calls with Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky will boost hopes that he is making progress toward brokering a deal that would allow grain shipments from Ukrainian ports to resume. “President Erdogan noted that it was time for the United Nations to take action on the plan regarding the formation of safe corridors through the Black Sea for the export of grain,” according to a Turkish readout of his call with the Russian president. Russia has blockaded Ukraine’s ports since Putin decided to invade in late February. Once known as the breadbasket of Europe, Ukraine is a major exporter of agricultural products and much of its grain has traditionally been sent to import-dependent countries such as Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria. Now, millions of tons of Ukrainian grain are stuck in storage facilities. The UN and Turkey are trying to broker talks to restart Ukraine’s crucial grain exports. But tensions are high over allegations of stolen supplies, which Moscow denies: Ukraine’s foreign ministry estimates that Russian forces have seized at least 400,000 tonnes of grain from the country since the February invasion. In its readout of the conversation, the Kremlin said the call took place “on the eve of the upcoming Russia-Turkey summit in the near future,” indicating that Putin is ready for face-to-face talks with Erdogan. The statement added that “the exchange of views on the situation around Ukraine continued, including in the context of coordinating efforts to ensure the safety of navigation in the Black Sea and grain exports to world markets.” Erdogan also spoke with Zelensky about safe sea corridors, saying Turkey “continues to work on the UN plan aimed at ensuring that Ukraine’s grain reaches world markets.” Zelensky tweeted after the conversation that the two leaders “discussed the importance of de-escalation [Ukrainian] ports and resumption of grain exports.’ He added that the two sides should “stop Russia from taking our grain from [the temporarily occupied territories].” That suggests Kiev’s concerns about Moscow creating new trade routes from occupied Ukrainian ports like Berdyansk and exporting grain that Ukraine says was stolen to places like Turkey. However, the fact that both Putin and Zelensky publicly engaged with the Turkish leader on this issue on the same day is likely to raise hopes that progress towards an agreement is possible. Eddy Wax contributed reporting. This article is part of POLITICO Pro The one-stop solution for policy professionals who combine the depth of POLITICO journalism with the power of technology Exclusively breaking scoops and ideas Customized policy information platform A high-level public affairs network
