Grain Corridor Agreement: What is Expected from the Erdoğan-Putin Meeting

President Erdogan and Russian leader Putin are meeting to discuss Russia's re-accession to the Grain Corridor Agreement.

resident Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet in Sochi, southern Russia. The main agenda item of the meeting is the Grain Corridor Agreement, which was signed with the mediation of Turkey and the United Nations, but which Russia withdrew in July. Why is the Grain Corridor Agreement important, why Russia withdrew, what are their demands for re-signing, what is expected from Erdogan and Putin meeting?

Erdogan - Russia - Putin

While eyes are on the Erdogan-Putin summit, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy reported that he met with French President Emmanuel Macron regarding the Grain Corridor Agreement.

Zelenskiy stated that the strengthening of the city of Odessa was also on the agenda during the meeting where the "means for ensuring the functioning" of the Grain Corridor Agreement were discussed.

However, the Odessa region is the target of attacks by Russian drones . In the past weeks , a grain warehouse in Odessa was hit by the attack of UAVs

Most of Ukraine's grain exports are made through the port of Odessa and are sent to the ports where it will arrive by passing through the Black Sea and the Straits. Since the end of the Grain Treaty , Ukraine has been shipping grain via the self - declared humanitarian corridor

Both Ukraine and Russia are major global suppliers of wheat, barley, sunflower oil and other food products needed in many parts of the world, particularly in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. While Ukraine is a major exporter of corn, Russia is critical for fertilizer exports. 

Interrupted shipments from Ukraine, the so-called "breadbasket of the world", exacerbated the global food crisis and caused grain prices to rise worldwide.

In order to prevent the food crisis, the Grain Corridor Agreement was signed in July 2022 with the mediation of the United Nations and Turkey.

The agreement allowed about 36 million tons of grain and other products to leave the three Ukrainian ports safely, despite Russia's war.

The agreement provided assurances that ships entering and leaving Ukrainian ports would not be attacked. The ships were controlled by Russian, Ukrainian, UN and Turkish authorities to ensure that they were only carrying food.

source:euronews