ANKARA, May 10. /TASS/: Negotiations between Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations on extending the Black Sea grain deal, and fulfilling the Russian part of the agreement pertaining to grain and fertilizer deliveries, will kick off in Istanbul on Wednesday and are expected to last two days, the Turkish Defense Ministry said.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin will participate in the high-level talks on the grain deal. Additionally, it is possible that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will also take part. May 11 is expected to be the key day of the negotiations.
Russia’s legitimate demands
The talks are expected to focus mainly on the start of implementation of the Russian part of the agreement under the overall grain deal framework, which provides for exports of agricultural products and fertilizers from Russia. Previously, Moscow repeatedly noted that, if this part remains unfulfilled, the grain deal would not be extended. Ankara earlier said that Moscow’s demands are absolutely legitimate and should be fulfilled unquestionably.
Another important issue is reconnecting the Russian Agricultural Bank to SWIFT and lifting restrictions on banking and insurance guarantees. As Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu pointed out earlier, the extension of the grain deal would depend on taking these demands by Russia into consideration.
Additionally, a diplomatic source told TASS that the Istanbul meeting will also address the issue of drafting a plan for the safe evacuation of Turkish merchant vessels that are stuck in Ukrainian ports due to Russia’s special military operation. While most of these vessels have already returned home, about 10 Turkish ships still remain stranded in Ukraine.
Participation of Turkish banks
The Turkish Foreign Ministry earlier said that Guterres had suggested that Turkey’s state-owned Ziraat Bank process payments for Russian grain and fertilizer sales.
Ankara insists that it could support this proposal if guarantees are given that no threats to the Turkish bank would emerge. As an informed source told TASS, the technicalities of this issue will be discussed at the four-party talks in Istanbul.
That said, a high-ranking Turkish official told Reuters earlier that Ziraat Bank would serve as "an intermediary to [a given] transaction with the written approval and commissioning of the United States and the United Nations," as was the case with US-based JP Morgan. This will not be implemented without written approval. If relevant agreements are reached, the US and the UN would have to approve each transaction.
About the grain deal
On July 22, 2022, a set of documents on supplies of food and fertilizers to the international market was signed in Istanbul. Initially, the agreements were concluded for 120 days and in November 2022, the deal was extended for the same number of days. On March 18, Russia announced the extension of the grain deal for 60 days, saying this would be enough time to assess the effectiveness of the memorandum signed with the UN.
The Russian Foreign Ministry pointed out that any decision on extending the deal would depend on reconnecting the Russian Agricultural Bank to SWIFT; resuming supplies of agricultural equipment, spare parts and maintenance service; lifting restrictions on insurance and re-insurance as well as the ban on port access; resuming the operation of the Togliatti-Odessa ammonia pipeline; and unblocking the foreign assets and accounts of Russian companies involved in producing and transporting food and fertilizers.
