Russian and Turkish Presidents, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, discussed the situation around Ukraine and the implementation of the Istanbul agreements, the Kremlin press service said on Friday after their telephone conversation. The two leaders agreed to continue personal contacts, TASS reports.
"The leaders exchanged views on the situation around Ukraine in the context of the principled assessments laid bare by the Russian president in his recent State of the Nation Address. Special attention was focused on the implementation of the Istanbul agreements on the export of Ukrainian grain and the export of Russian agricultural products and fertilizers. The presidents stressed the necessity of bona fide implementation of the second part of the ‘package,’ concerning the removal of obstacles for corresponding supplies from Russia to the poorest countries," it said.
A package of documents geared to resolve the problem of food and fertilizer supplies on global markets was signed on July 22 in Istanbul for a term of 120 days. One of the agreements regulating grain exports from the Kiev-controlled ports of Odessa, Chernomorsk, and Yuzhny was to expire on November 19. On November 17, the agreements were extended for 120 more days. According to the Russian foreign ministry, the deal was automatically extended since there were no objections from either of the parties to it (Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, the United Nations).
Along with that, Russia and the United Nations signed a memorandum envisaging that the UN will take steps to lift various restrictions on exports of Russian agricultural products and fertilizers on global market.
Russia has repeatedly pointed to the non-implementation of several provisions of the deal, including those envisaging that this grain is to be exported to the poorest countries. It also draws attention to the obstacles for the export of Russian fertilizers and food to the global market. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin said in an interview with RTVI on February 13 that the concept of the Istanbul agreements and the extension of the grain deal in March looks non-expedient for Russia, since there are no visible results.
