Top Turkish, Russian diplomats discuss suspended grain export deal

In a phone call, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday discussed the recently suspended grain export deal, according to Turkish diplomatic sources.

The sources, who asked not to be identified due to restrictions on speaking to the media, gave no further information about the call.

Russia on Saturday announced its suspension of the UN-brokered Black Sea grain export deal.

On July 22, Türkiye, the UN, Russia, and Ukraine signed an agreement in Istanbul to resume Black Sea grain exports, which were paused after the Russia-Ukraine war began in February. A Joint Coordination Center with officials from the three countries and the UN was set up in Istanbul to oversee the shipments.

For its part, Türkiye continues to take necessary initiatives with all parties to solve problems related to the implementation of the deal, which had sent out over 9 million tons of grain since early August, helping to stem a global food crisis.