Turkey "Four-Party Talks on Ukraine Grain Transport to Be Held Next Week"... Will the Food Crisis Be Resolved?

Ukraine, Russia, Turkey, and UN Grain Transport Route Resumption Talks
Up to 40 Million Tons of Grain Exports Could Resume if Successful
Russian Negotiation Stance a Variable... "Putin Will Not Meet Turkish Delegation"

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Talks to resume grain exports from the Black Sea, which have been blocked since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, are scheduled to be held next week in Turkey. Under the mediation of the Turkish government, a four-party meeting involving Ukraine, Russia, Turkey, and the United Nations (UN) is planned. If an agreement to resume grain exports is reached at this meeting, it is expected that over 40 million tons of grain will be exported over the next six months, helping to alleviate the global food crisis and the sharp rise in grain prices.

On the 21st (local time), Turkey's Haberturk TV, citing sources from the Turkish Presidential Administration, reported, "Within the next 10 days, a four-party delegation meeting involving Ukraine, Russia, Turkey, and the UN will be held in Istanbul, Turkey, to discuss the resumption of Black Sea grain shipments," adding, "Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and UN Secretary-General Ant?nio Guterres may attend." Russian news agency TASS also reported that a four-party meeting to resume grain exports will be held next week.

Earlier, on the 3rd, Turkey and the UN initiated negotiations to resume grain exports between Ukraine and Russia, but the talks ended without agreement. Ahead of this meeting, Turkey is known to be dispatching a military delegation to Russia this week to intensively discuss the grain export issue. As hunger is worsening in regions highly dependent on Ukrainian grain, such as the Middle East and Africa, there is increasing pressure to promptly restore maritime transport routes for grain exports.

The hosts of the talks, Turkey and the UN, are reportedly proposing to both Ukraine and Russia to restore about three maritime grain transport routes centered around the Ukrainian southwestern port of Odesa, and to transport Russian grain together. If the negotiations succeed, approximately 35 to 40 million tons of grain will be transported in the international grain market over the next 6 to 8 months, which is expected to help stabilize global grain prices and alleviate hunger in the Middle East and Africa.

However, it remains uncertain whether Russia will accept this negotiation. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, while announcing the Turkish military delegation's plan to visit Russia, stated, "The issue of grain transportation will be discussed through the Russia-Turkey Defense Ministry channels," but added, "President Vladimir Putin will not attend this meeting."

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