Greater Middle East (bbabo.net), - Russian President Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The leaders discussed the state of bilateral ties, regional issues, the implementation of the "grain deal" and the fight against terrorism. This was announced today, December 11, by the Anadolu agency.
Erdogan expressed hope for a speedy resolution of the situation in Ukraine, reiterating his readiness to provide mediation services to resolve the crisis. Turkey advocated a fair and lasting end to the conflict through the resumption of negotiations.
At the same time, the Turkish leader separately touched upon the implementation of the "grain deal". The parties confirmed the importance of fulfilling the agreements reached between Moscow, Ankara, Kiev and the UN, as the conclusion of the deal made it possible to export more than 13 million tons of agricultural products to world markets. Erdogan also invited Putin to start work on the export of various food products through the "grain corridor".
Another topic of the telephone conversation was the Syrian crisis and the issue of combating terrorism. The leaders focused on the importance of respecting the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Syria, coupled with the intensification of a political settlement based on UN Security Council Resolution 2254.
At the same time, Ankara drew Moscow's attention to the importance of fighting terrorism, referring to the Syrian offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is regarded as a terrorist organization in Turkey, the YPG. At the same time, the Turkish side pointed out that the activities of this "terrorist group" threaten both the territorial integrity of Syria and the national security of Turkey. Turkey again reminded the Russian side of the need to fulfill the terms of the deal on Syria of October 2019, according to which Moscow must ensure the withdrawal of Kurdish forces from the areas bordering Turkey.
According to the Anadolu agency, Erdogan also plans to have a telephone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
As bbabo.net previously reported, the package nature of the grain deal was confirmed during consultations held on December 8-9 in Istanbul between Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin and his Turkish counterpart Sedat Onal:
“The interlocutors reviewed the implementation of the Istanbul agreements of July 22. The package nature of the agreements was confirmed - the Black Sea initiative on the export of Ukrainian food and the Russia-UN memorandum on the promotion of Russian fertilizers and agricultural products to world markets.
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