President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday said Russia has agreed to return to a Turkish and U.N. brokered deal that allowed the shipment of millions of tons of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea
Erdoğan said Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu called his Turkish counterpart Hulusi Akar and informed him that the grain corridor agreement would continue as of Wednesday.
"After the call we held yesterday with (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, Russian Defense Minister Mr. Shoigu called our National Defence Minister Hulusi Akar and expressed that the grain transports will continue as agreed before as of 1200 (p.m.) today," he noted.
Shortly after Erdogan's comments, the Russian Defense Ministry said the country would resume its participation in the Black Sea grain deal.
"The Russian Federation considers that the guarantees received at the moment appear sufficient, and resumes the implementation of the agreement," the defense ministry said in a statement.
The ministry said that thanks to the involvement of the United Nations and Türkiye, it had been possible to obtain written guarantees from Ukraine that it would not use the humanitarian corridor and Ukrainian ports to conduct military operations against Russia.
The statement represented an about-turn by Moscow, which had previously said it would be risky and unacceptable for ships to continue sailing through the humanitarian corridor set up under a Turkish- and U.N.-brokered deal in July.
Erdogan said Wednesday that the deal would prioritize shipments to African nations, including Somalia, Djibouti and Sudan, in line with Russia’s concerns that most of the grain was ending up in richer nations.
Russia suspended its participation in the grain deal over the weekend, citing allegations of a Ukrainian drone attack against its Black Sea fleet. Kyiv has not claimed responsibility and denies using the grain program's security corridor for military purposes.
Ships loaded with grain departed Ukraine on Tuesday despite Russia suspending its participation in the accord that ensured safe wartime passage of critical food supplies meant for parts of the world struggling with hunger. But the United Nations had said vessels would not move Wednesday, raising concerns about future shipments.
The United Nations and Türkiye brokered separate deals with Russia and Ukraine in July to ensure Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia would receive grain and other food from the Black Sea region during Russia’s war in Ukraine.