Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan announced on Sunday that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will discuss a new mechanism to allow Ukrainian grain exports through the Black Sea with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin during Putin's upcoming visit to Turkey. A Turkish official stated earlier that Putin is expected to visit Turkey on February 12 to meet Erdoğan, marking the first visit by the Russian leader to a NATO member since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
In an interview with a private Turkish television channel, Fidan said efforts are underway to find "new ways" to transport Ukrainian grain to global markets. He added, "The previous grain agreement operated under a certain mechanism, and now we have seen the possibility of proceeding with a different mechanism; there are now efforts to realize this potential." He noted that Erdoğan will bring this issue up during his meeting with Putin in Turkey.
Kyiv has stated that discussions are ongoing to revive the agreement, but Moscow has said that there is no prospect for its return. Fidan mentioned that some ships managed to transport Ukrainian grain across the Black Sea even without an agreement. He added, "We want to clarify this (situation) through the new mechanism."
