Russia-Tukey-Qatar: Million Tons Of Wheat For Poor Countries

Moscow and Ankara have reached an agreement on the supply of one million tons of Russian wheat to Turkey, which, after some processing procedures in Turkish factories, will be delivered to the neediest countries in the world. This is the most tangible result of the recent summit in Sochi (September 4, 2023) between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The trilateral agreement – financial guarantees to Russia were offered by Qatar – represents a “mini-alternative” to the Ukrainian Black Sea wheat agreement that expired on July 17, after the Kremlin said no to extending the deal. “A million tons is not much. Selling such a volume of wheat will not change the situation on world food markets and will not affect price dynamics. But it will show the whole world that the problems of countries suffering from hunger can be solved without Ukraine,” a source in the Russian delegation at the Putin-Erdogan summit told the AIF weekly.

The formal signing of the Russia-Turkey-Qatar agreement was announced on the evening of September 6 by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko, “The parties now need to specify some related issues, from finance to logistics, security of sea routes, and the choice of recipient countries,” the Russian diplomat told reporters. Grushko’s words followed President Putin’s statement at a joint press conference with Erdogan, “We continue to organize the supply of one million tons of Russian wheat at a privileged price for processing in Turkey and, therefore, free transportation to the poorest countries. In this sense, we count on the help of Qatar, which is ready to support the poorest countries for humanitarian reasons,” said the Russian leader.

After harvesting more than 154 million tons of wheat in 2022, the grain harvest in Russia this year should be at least 130 million tons, of which 60 million tons will be exported.

International observers also pointed out that Turkey met Russia halfway and signed a new agreement without Ukraine, which previously had virtually “thrown in the trash” the peace plan drawn up by Erdogan to end the Russian-Ukrainian armed conflict.