ANKARA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd November, 2022) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declined on Wednesday to comment on how he managed to convince Russia to return to the grain deal, saying that he would tell US President Joe Biden first.
Earlier on Wednesday, Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well as the defense ministers of Turkey and Russia, held talks to discuss Russia's decision to suspend its participation in the grain deal. Shortly after, the Turkish leader said that the parties had managed to reach an agreement and the grain corridor would continue to operate. The Russian defense ministry confirmed that Moscow had resumed participation in the deal.
"Let me keep it to myself, first I must tell Biden," Erdogan was quoted as saying by Turkish broadcaster A Haber.
On July 22, Russia, Ukraine, and Turkey signed a UN-brokered initiative to provide a humanitarian maritime corridor for ships exporting food and fertilizer from Ukraine in the Black Sea.
On Saturday, the Russian defense ministry said that Moscow was suspending its participation in the grain deal after its ships were attacked by Ukraine in the Bay of Sevastopol.
