Russian President Vladimir Putin received his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan this Friday in the Russian city of Sochi, on the Black Sea, where after a four-hour meeting they agreed to boost their cooperation. This includes fully complying with the Ukrainian and Russian grain export agreement, and also Ankara paying in rubles for Russian gas supplies, which Western countries oppose.
Both Putin and Erdogan have stressed the need for “the full implementation of the Istanbul agreementincluding the unhindered export of grain, fertilizers and Russian raw materials for its production”. In this way, they recognize “the important role of the constructive relations between both countries when it comes to signing the initiative on the secure supply of the cereal from Ukrainian ports”.
The Kremlin leader thanked the Turkish president for his efforts to reach such an agreement: “Thanks to your direct participation and the mediation of the UN Secretariat, the problem of deliveries of Ukrainian grain has been resolved from the Black Sea ports. Deliveries have already started, and I would like to thank them for this,” Putin said.
The Razoni freighter, the first to set sail from Ukrainian territory, left on Monday with 26,000 tons of corn from Odessa to Lebanon, where it will arrive next Sunday after having already crossed the Bosphorus Strait. Three other ships have left this Friday from the Ukrainian ports of Odessa, Chornomosk and Pvidenny.
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Putin has also highlighted Ankara’s role in the transit of Russian gas to Europe through the TurkStream gas pipeline. “European partners should be grateful to Turkey because guarantees the uninterrupted transit of Russian gas“said the Russian president.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexandr Novak has revealed that the Russian and Turkish leaders have agreed that Ankara will start paying “partially” for gas in Russian currency. “We are gradually moving to payment in the national currency. Part of the supplies will be paid for in rubles. This is effectively a new stage that opens new possibilities“, he explained, while recalling that Russia annually supplies 26,000 million cubic meters of gas to Turkey.
The routes of entry of Russian gas to Europe
“The Turkish Stream, unlike all other routes of our hydrocarbon supplies, works correctly, dynamically, without failures (…), it has become one of the main arteries for the supply of Russian gas to Europe,” Putin stressed.
Operations in Syria
Both leaders have also reaffirmed their “determination to act in coordination and solidarity in the fight against all terrorist organizations” in Syria, defending the total territorial integrity of the country.
Ankara has carried out multiple operations in northern Syria since 2016, taking over hundreds of miles of land and targeting the Kurdish YPG militia, despite opposition from Moscow. Erdogan wants to get Putin’s go-ahead for a new Turkish military operation in northern Syria against Kurdish militias.