So if the collective West doesn’t want people to starve they can live up to their own agreements! This claim of concern for starving people from the west is so spurious, so absurd, it demonstrates the shamelessness of the political class in opting to play that card! The west has starved whole populations through sanctions. Feigning concern is not genuine concern. In the same way that virtue signalling is not virtuous!
TRT World
Erdogan confirms the importance of fulfilling Russia’s demands for exports of its own grain and fertiliser to revive historic Black Sea grain deal.
The Black Sea Grain Initiative should be resumed by addressing deficiencies that hampered the suspended deal, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said following a highly anticipated meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
The two leaders on Monday discussed current regional and global issues, as well as bilateral ties. The revival of last year’s historic Black Sea grain deal that helped ease the global food crisis was a top issue.
“We believe the initiative should be continued by correcting its deficiencies,” Erdogan told a joint news conference with Putin during his one-day visit to Russia’s coastal city of Sochi.
Confirming the importance of fulfilling Russia’s demands for exports of its own grain and fertiliser, Türkiye says there is no alternative to the initiative.
“Proposed alternatives to the grain deal could not offer a sustainable, safe, and permanent model based on cooperation between parties, (one) like the Black Sea initiative,” Erdogan said.
The deal has played a “key role” in addressing the global food crisis, Erdogan said, adding that it acts like a “breathing tube” for those in need like in Africa.
Meanwhile, Moscow is weeks away from shipping free grain to 6 African nations-
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that Moscow is just weeks away from supplying free grain to six African countries after scrapping a deal allowing Ukrainian food exports through the Black Sea.
Their central bank governors were in attendance at this meeting-
Erdogan said Turkish Central Bank Governor Hafize Gaye Erkan also accompanied him during his visit.
They’re going to trade between one another in rubles and lira- their domestic currencies
“I believe that the meeting of our Central Bank governors is important in taking steps to use the domestic currency in bilateral relations,” he added.
Hailing developments between Türkiye and Russia in tourism, Erdogan said: “Russia is number one in tourism right now.”
The defense industry and the energy sector are the other important areas in bilateral ties, he added.
About Türkiye’s first nuclear power plant Akkuyu, Erdogan said the work at the power plant is continuing smoothly.
“The step taken regarding the first unit is very good. Moreover, as we have discussed with you before, I think that we will have to take a step regarding the Sinop Nuclear Power Plant. Of course, the fact that there will be a hub in Thrace is another element of richness and vitality,” he added.
Akkuyu, currently under construction in Türkiye’s southern Mersin province, will be the country’s first nuclear power plant.
An intergovernmental agreement for the plant was signed between Türkiye and Russia in May 2010. The plant’s groundbreaking ceremony was held on April 3, 2018, after which construction started on the first unit.
Construction of the second unit began on April 8, 2020, and the first batch of concrete for the third unit was poured on March 10, 2021.
The site, which is considered one of the largest NPP construction sites in the world, entered its peak construction phase when the foundation was laid for the fourth and last unit on July 21 last year.