Russian President Vladimir Putin, following a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the Russian resort of Sochi, stated that "Russia will be ready to return to the Black Sea grain agreement as soon as all related agreements are implemented." Putin clarified that "Russia agreed to participate in the grain deal, renewing it three times after Western promises to fulfill various commitments requested by Russia, none of which have been fulfilled." He continued: "Western promises to Russia must be implemented first; we harvested 130 million tons of grain and will allocate 60 million tons for export. Turkey is an important partner, and we are ready to work to develop the Black Sea deal in collaboration with Turkey and Qatar, to export grains to African countries."
Putin noted that "the Russian proposal to send one million tons of grain to African countries via Turkey with financial support from Qatar is not an alternative to the Black Sea grain agreement." Regarding the Ukrainian counteroffensive, Putin confirmed that what it faces is "not a temporary slowdown, but a complete and utter failure," expressing hope that attempts to launch another offensive will also fail.
Putin criticized the West again regarding the agreement from which Russia withdrew in July.
Erdogan, for his part, believed that "a solution could soon be reached regarding the revival of the UN-mediated grain export agreement across the Black Sea, including bridging remaining gaps." He emphasized that "the initiative must continue by addressing its deficiencies. In this context, we have prepared a package containing new proposals in consultation with the United Nations." Erdogan added: "I believe it is possible to make progress... we see that we will reach a solution that meets expectations in a short period," noting that "alternative options to the original grain agreement cannot provide a permanent solution." He pointed out that "Ukraine needs to soften its negotiating stance against Russia in the talks aimed at reviving the Black Sea grain export agreement," and called for sending more grain to Africa instead of European countries.
