[RIA Novosti] The West did not try to mediate the crisis in Ukraine, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.
"Unfortunately, the West only activated elements of provocation and did not try to be a mediator. At the stage of mediation, we <...> assumed this role in 2022 in connection with the Black Sea grain corridor," Erdogan said at a meeting with youth in Erzurum.
According to the president, the goal of the grain deal is to supply food to countries in need.
At the same time, Erdogan pointed out that Europe received 44 percent of supplies through the Black Sea Initiative, 16 percent of grain went to Turkey, and 14 percent went to African countries.
"Mr. Putin says: "Let's do this, let's focus on Africa , not Europe, I'm ready to send grain for free." We said: "Let's turn the grain that you send into flour in our mills" and send it to the needy African country," the Turkish leader added.
"I'm ready to send
Erdogan noted that the supply of Russian fertilizers to world markets remains a difficult issue for the time being.
"More intensive work is being carried out in this direction," Erdogan added, expressing hope for joint steps with Moscow to resolve the situation.
The grain deal, which was signed on July 22 by representatives of Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and the UN , involves the export of Ukrainian grain, food and fertilizer across the Black Sea from three ports, including Odessa.
The ICRC spoke about the situation with the supply of grain to Africa
The contract expired on November 18, but meant an automatic extension for 120 days with the consent of all parties. The Russian Foreign Ministry said that "no such objections were received," at the same time noting that Moscow allows a technical extension of the "Black Sea initiative" for the export of grain without any changes in terms and scope.
The deal itself is an integral part of the package agreement, which, among other things, provides for the unblocking of Russian exports of food and fertilizers. Moreover, Moscow has repeatedly noted that this condition is not being met. In turn, UN representatives assured that the restrictions would be lifted.
Since February 24, Russia has been conducting a special operation to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine. Vladimir Putin called its goal "the protection of people who have been subjected to bullying and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years." The army is faced with the task of liberating the Donbass and guaranteeing the security of Russia.