Erdogan supports grain shipment from Russia, cites global inequality
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The Turkish president is voicing his support for exporting Russian grain internationally as most Ukrainian grain is sent to "rich" developed countries.
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Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan attends a joint news conference with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic during a visit to Belgrade, Serbia September 7, 2022. (Reuters)
Turkey supported the shipment of grain from Russia on Thursday, after a Ukraine grain deal has been recently reached that would allow the export of Ukrainian grain.
"We want grain shipments from Russia to start as well, we expect this," said President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at a news conference in Zagreb, Croatia, which is the last stop of three locations he's visited on his Balkan tour.
Erdogan said Russian President Vladimir Putin is "right" that Ukrainian grain is more, "unfortunately", directed towards rich countries rather than poorer countries.
"While sanctions against Russia continue, on the other hand, grain shipments to the countries that impose these sanctions are disturbing Putin," he said. adding that he will bring up the issue with Putin on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Uzbekistan, which will take place this September.
Most of the grain leaving Ukraine's ports after the grain shipments deadlock that exacerbated the international food crisis is heading to the European Union instead of developing countries, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday as the world's poorest nations bear the brunt of the food crisis most.
On July 22, Russia, Ukraine, and Turkey signed the grain deal to provide a humanitarian maritime corridor for ships to carry food and fertilizers from the Black Sea ports. Three key Ukrainian ports — Odessa, Chornomorsk, and Yuzhne — were unblocked to resume exports.
Since the agreement has been put into effect, Ukraine has shipped one million tonnes of foodstuff from its three Black Sea ports under the UN-backed grain deal, according to Ukrainian media outlets.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said after a drone attack struck Russia's Black Sea Fleet's headquarters that Russian fertilizers and agricultural products must be able to reach world markets "unimpeded" or a global food crisis could strike as early as next year.
Several countries are at risk of dwindling grain supplies, such as Somalia, Yemen, Niger, and Lebanon, to name a few.
