U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday mentioned the U.S. seems to Türkiye to play a “leadership role” in restoring the Black Sea grain deal following Russia’s withdrawal.
“We look to Turkey to play the role that has already played, a leadership role in getting this back on track, making sure that people around the world can get the food they need at reasonable prices,” Blinken mentioned in response to a query about Türkiye’s function in grain deal through the Aspen Security Forum within the U.S. state of Colorado.
Noting that Türkiye was instrumental in “getting the initiative off the ground” within the first place working intently with UN Secretary-General Guterres, Blinken mentioned: “They did a terrific job in getting this off the ground”.
“They’ve done a good job in keeping it going at various periods when the Russians were pulling back. And President (Recep Tayyip) Erdoğan has said, I think just yesterday, that he is engaged with President (Vladimir) Putin to see if he can bring them back to the agreement,” he mentioned.
As Russia continues its assaults on the port metropolis of Odessa in southern Ukraine, Blinken mentioned he sees “zero evidence that Russia is interested” in greater peace talks.
The U.S. is working with allies and Ukraine “to look at other options,” in accordance with Blinken.
Earlier this week, Russia pulled out of the Black Sea grain deal, saying the Russian a part of the settlement was not applied.
The settlement, initially signed in July final yr in Istanbul by Türkiye, the UN, Russia, and Ukraine, was aimed toward resuming grain exports from Ukrainian ports which had been halted on account of the Russia-Ukraine struggle which started in February 2022.
Source: www.anews.com.tr
