Putin Says De-Dollarization Trend Visible in Russia-Turkiye Ties

Western nations have told lies about the alleged humanitarian nature of the grain deal, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday following his talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Sochi.

The much-anticipated summit between Putin and Erdogan concluded on Monday afternoon and, as expected, was devoted in most part to the troubled grain deal, officially known as the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which Russia left in July citing the West and Ukraine's failure to fulfill their commitments under the agreement.

Here is an interesing fact: the latest bilateral meeting between Putin and Erdogan took place almost a year ago, when the two leaders held talks on the sidelines of the 7th Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) in Kazakhstan's capital of Astana

Here are the key statements made by Vladimir Putin following the talks with Erdogan in Sochi.

On Grain Deal

The West continues to block the fulfillment of a part of their grain deal obligations concerning Russia, President Vladimir Putin said.

"While Russia clearly provided security guarantees for shipping under this [grain] deal, the other side used humanitarian corridors for terrorist attacks against Russian civilian and military facilities," Putin told a press conference in the Russian resort city of Sochi.

Putin noted that Russia will proceed with food and fertilizer supplies.

On De-Dollarization Trend in Russia-Turkiye ties

"There is a growing trend toward the use of national currencies — the ruble and the lira — in commercial exchanges, while the share of the dollar- and euro-denominated mutual transactions has been steadily decreasing," the Russian leader said.

On Ukraine’s counteroffensive

"In terms of the setback of the counteroffensive, this is not a setback, it is a failure. In any case, today it looks like that. Let's see what will happen next, I hope that it will continue like this," Putin said.

Russia Never Refused Negotiations on Ukraine

"I want to say that Russia has never refused negotiations, and we do not refuse them now," Putin added.

Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks with his Turkish counterpart Erdogan in Sochi.

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Russia to Continue Exporting Food, Fertilizers

"Despite all the obstacles, Russia intends to continue exporting food and fertilizers, contribute to price stabilization and improve the situation in the global agricultural sector," Putin noted.

Russia Will Be Ready to Revive Grain Deal When All Agreements Implemented

"I would like to reiterate our principled position, we will be ready to consider the possibility of reviving the grain deal. I told the president about it again today. And we will do it as soon as all the agreements in the deal are fully implemented," Putin said.

On Talks With African Nations on Grain Delivery

"We are close to completing agreements with six African countries, where we intend to supply food for free, and even carry out delivery, logistics for free, deliver this cargo," Putin told a press conference.

Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks with his Turkish counterpart Erdogan in Sochi.

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Turkey Considers Russia's Expectations on Grain Deal Fair: Erdogan

The Turkish president said he had discussed the grain deal with Putin in detail, noting that the agreement had played a great role in preventing food crisis globally.

However, Russia's concerns about the deal are fair enough, Erdogan noted, expressing hopes that the new package of proposals on the issue could help in resumpting the deal.

"At our talks today with Mr. Putin, he said that Moscow is ready to send 1 million tonnes of grain to countries in need. We are also ready to do our part. We said that we could grind this grain and send it to poor African countries in the form of flour. We hope to work together on this issue," Erdogan told a press conference in Sochi.

"We have prepared a new package of proposals following consultations with the UN. We are confident that we can achieve the desired result with this new package and resume the initiative as soon as possible," he added.

Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks with his Turkish counterpart Erdogan in Sochi.

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Here are the main remarks made by Erdogan following the talks with Putin.

New Nuclear Power Plant in Turkiye's Sinop

"The work at Akkuyu (NPP) is ongoing, and today we discussed the construction of a nuclear power plant in Sinop as a second step. Turkey will make a leap forward thanks to these steps," Erdogan noted.

Turkey Ready to Mediate Between Russia, Ukraine

“We are determined to lead efforts to bring stability to our region... We have hosted talks in our country between the parties to the conflict in Ukraine. We are again ready to assume the function of an intermediary," the Turkish President said.

Ukraine Conflict

Putin Blasts EU, US for Shamelessly Exploiting Grain Deal As Tool for Self-Enrichment

24 July 2023, 16:18

West Deceived Russia About Humanitarian Nature of Grain Deal

Turkey Considers Russia's Expectations on Grain Deal Fair: Erdogan