Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSign up ISTANBUL, Sept 8 (Reuters) – Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday he wanted grain to be exported from Russia as well, adding that Vladimir Putin was right to complain that grain from Ukraine under a U.N.-backed deal they went to rich and not to poor countries. . The grain export agreement was aimed at averting a global food crisis by ensuring the safe passage of ships in and out of Ukrainian ports, allowing them to export tens of millions of tonnes of grain blocked by Russia’s invasion. The agreement – signed by Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the United Nations – also facilitates Russian exports. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSign up “The fact that grain shipments are going to countries that apply these sanctions (against Moscow) bothers Mr. Putin. We also want grain shipments from Russia to start,” Erdogan told a news conference with his Croatian counterpart. “The wheat that comes as part of this grain deal unfortunately goes to rich countries, not to poor countries,” Erdogan said. On Wednesday, Russian President Putin floated the idea of limiting the deal, given that it delivered grain, other food and fertilizer to the European Union and Turkey rather than to poor countries. read more The Istanbul-based coordination group, which includes the four signatories, said about 30 percent of the cargo has gone to low- and lower-middle-income countries. NATO member Turkey has close ties to both Russia and Ukraine and has tried to balance relations through the war, rejecting Western sanctions on Moscow, while also criticizing the Russian invasion and supplying Kyiv with armed drones . UN and Russian officials met in Geneva on Wednesday to discuss Russian complaints that Western sanctions were hampering grain and fertilizer exports despite the UN agreement. read more Ismini Palla, the UN spokesperson for the Black Sea Wheat Initiative, said that the drop in world wheat prices in August was partly due to the resumption of exports from Ukraine and that securing food and fertilizer supplies was critical to maintaining this of the trend. read more Despite the fact that about 100 cargo ships have left Ukrainian ports since the signing of the agreement in late July, Ukraine’s wheat is still not reaching its traditional customers in Africa in nearly normal volumes. read more The agreement brokered by the UN and Turkey must be renewed every 120 days by agreement of the parties. Expires at the end of November. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSign up Reported by Ezgi Erkoyun? Written by Daren Butler. Edited by Jonathan Spicer, Alexandra Hudson Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
