Talks between Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations on extending the grain deal and implementing Russia's part of the agreement on grain and fertilizer supplies will start Wednesday in Istanbul and will last two days, the Turkish Ministry of national defense reported.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin will attend the high-level meeting on the grain deal. In addition, the participation of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in the talks is not ruled out. However, the key day of negotiations, as noted, will be May 11.
Russia's legitimate demands
It is expected that the main subject of the negotiations will be implementation of the Russian part of the agreement under the grain deal, which provides for export of agricultural products and fertilizers from Russia. Moscow has previously repeatedly noted that if this part of the grain deal is not fulfilled, the deal will not be extended for a new term. Ankara has previously claimed that Moscow's demands are absolutely legal and must be met unconditionally.
Another important issue will be the question of Rosselkhozbank's reconnection to SWIFT, bank and insurance guarantees. Earlier Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that the extension of the grain deal will depend on taking into account these requirements of the Russian Federation.
In addition, a diplomatic source told TASS that the Istanbul meeting also plans to prepare a plan for the safe evacuation of Turkish merchant ships that are stuck in Ukrainian ports due to Russia's special military operation. A large part of them have returned to the republic, there are about 10 Turkish ships in Ukrainian harbors.
Involvement of Turkish banks
The Turkish foreign ministry said earlier that it had received a proposal from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for the participation of Turkish state bank Ziraat in the operations to pay for Russian grain and fertilizers.
Ankara says the proposal will be supported if there are no threats against the Turkish bank, if such guarantees are given. An informed source told TASS that technical details on the topic will be discussed at four-party talks in Istanbul.
Meanwhile, a senior Turkish official told Reuters earlier that Ziraat Bank would broker the deal with written approval and a US and UN mandate, as in the JP Morgan example. It will not be implemented unless there is written approval. If appropriate arrangements are made, the US and the UN would have to approve each transaction.
About the grain deal
On July 22, 2022, a package of documents was signed in Istanbul to supply food and fertilizer to the international market. The agreements were originally for 120 days, in November last year they were extended for the same period. On March 18 this year, Russia announced a 60-day extension of the deal, warning that this would be enough time to assess the implementation of the memorandum signed with the UN.
The Russian Foreign Ministry pointed out that a further decision on the extension of the deal would depend on the reconnection of Rosselkhozbank to the SWIFT system, the resumption of supplies of agricultural equipment, spare parts and service, the lifting of restrictions on insurance and reinsurance, the lifting of the ban on access to ports, the resumption of operation of the Tolyatti - Odessa ammonia pipeline, the unblocking of foreign assets and accounts of Russian companies involved in the production and transportation of food and fertilizers.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
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Based on materials from TASS