Turkey's efforts for a peaceful settlement in Ukraine deserve high praise. This was reported by the Russian Ambassador in Ankara Alexei Erkhov to the Turkish agency DHA.
"I think we should highly appreciate Turkey's endeavor to help the parties to the conflict achieve a ceasefire and work out mutually acceptable methods of post-conflict settlement. However, as the popular proverb says, 'you cannot clap your hands with one hand.' Therefore, mediation is hardly possible when one of the parties openly refuses to negotiate and tries to impose its ultimatums. This is how the notorious 'peace formula' can be assessed," the Russian ambassador said.
"We can also appreciate the persistence of Turkish diplomacy, with persistence supporting the Black Sea initiative even in the face of reluctance of Kiev and its Western patrons to fulfill the provisions of the agreement concerning Russia," he said.
The grain deal, signed in Istanbul on July 22, 2022, expired on July 17, 2023. Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly pointed out that the West exported most of the Ukrainian grain to its own states, and the main goal of the deal - supplying grain to needy countries, including African countries - was never realized.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Moscow-Live/Creative Commons 2.0
Based on materials from TASS