Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan remains the main mediator, or at least the best known person among them. Russia Y Ukraine. After having managed to pave the way for Ukraine’s grain exports six months ago, now to expand and expand this agreement and through its broker, Ukraine -Y Russia— not only cereals, but also other food products.
“Ankara and Moscow can start working on exports different foodsand then slowly other products Erdogan told his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, from the grain aisle on December 11. After that, the Turkish president made the same speech, but with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky.
Since then, Erdogan has raced to extend this Ukraine grain deal, which was on the verge of collapse in November and will need to be extended again. russian veto– In March.
“The Russians seem to have few intentions,” he explains. Nomad Lightprofessional think tank Middle East Institute—. The first is that its allies can have grain, fertilizer, and other crops at the same time. affordable prices. Second, by facing the world, reasonable actor imagenegotiating, even feeding the world”.
“To call make a mess: While creating a missile terror in Ukrainian cities, it attacks civil infrastructurethey try to show their willingness to talk, to participate. international processes‘ continues this expert.
Russian fertilizers
To date, Moscow has always been skeptical of the Ukraine grain deal and has been trying to pressure Europe to facilitate the deal. Russia’s grain and fertilizer exports.
These products are not on the list of Western sanctions, but their trade has been hampered by fears. international shipping companies Working with Russian companies. “The grain deal is a complex deal and needs to be removed for it to function properly. Barriers to products from Russiato meet the needs of the countries that need it most,” he said. Kremlin After Erdogan-Putin meeting.
“Russia wants moneyTherefore, his greatest desire is to include his fertilizers in this agreement. Getting it will create a new way of making fresh money. buy new components pay for missile production or for other products such as Iranian drones. But in short, short-term economic pressure Making money is important to all parties. Not only for Russia, but also for Ukraine and Turkey,” says Işık.
Despite Western aid, the Ukrainian economy collapsed in 2022 due to the Russian invasion. according to your guess world Bank, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) A Ukrainian will leave 33% this year.
A third of Ukrainians are currently war displaced; Thousands of people died on the front. according to incoming data UN, 6,500 civilians died during the conflict. And then there’s the obvious: much of the country and its infrastructure completely destroyed.
“Despite all this, Ukraine has so far favored the inclusion of Russian fertilizers in the agreement. Ukraine ports is included in the list of places to start the export route by. Black Sea. In this way, Ukraine can export more food and other products more easily. Kiev’s intention is clear: to export as much as possible, get the most money“The light explains.
This is where Erdogan’s Turkey, which has been living in an out-of-control inflationary crisis for more than a year, comes into play, according to the expert. The country of Anatolia became the second country in the world – only behind Spain– the most beneficiary of the current Ukrainian grain agreement. “One of Erdogan’s biggest motivations,” says Işık, “is a priority and advantageous access to the products of the agreement”.