Istanbul Turkey — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will meet with Vladimir Putin on Monday hoping to persuade the Russian leader to rejoin the B
Istanbul, Turkey — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will meet with Vladimir Putin on Monday, hoping to persuade the Russian leader to rejoin the Black Sea grain deal that Moscow broke off from in July.
Here are some key things to know and what’s at stake:
Where will the talks be held?
The meeting in Sochi on Russia’s southern coast comes after weeks of speculation about when and where the two leaders might meet. Erdogan previously said that Putin would travel to Turkey in August.
Why did Russia leave the grain deal?
The Kremlin refused to renew the grain agreement six weeks ago. The deal — brokered by the United Nations and Turkey in July 2022 — had allowed nearly 33 million metric tons (36 million tons) of grain and other commodities to leave three Ukrainian ports safely despite Russia’s war.
However, Russia pulled out after claiming that a parallel deal promising to remove obstacles to Russian exports of food and fertilizer hadn’t been honored.
Moscow complained that restrictions on shipping and insurance hampered its agricultural trade, even though it has shipped record amounts of wheat since last year.
Why is Turkey a broker?
Since Putin withdrew from the initiative, Erdogan has repeatedly pledged to renew arrangements that helped avoid a food crisis in parts of Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
