Samir Humbatov

During the meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the Russian city of Sochi, discussions were held in several areas. One of the issues that attracted more attention in the discussions was the issue of the export of Ukrainian grain to the world markets under the guarantee of the UN and Turkey. Speaking about the export of Ukrainian grain to the world markets, the Russian president spoke with satisfaction about the export of Russian grain and fertilizer to the world markets. From this speech of Putin, it was understood that in the Istanbul agreement, not only the agreement was reached for the export of Ukrainian grain to the world markets, but also the agreement was reached for the export of Russian grain and fertilizer to the world markets. This means that with the Istanbul agreement, not only Ukraine, but also Russia is profitable. Another important aspect of the matter is the importance and role played by Turkey in this agreement. Turkey achieves three important points with this agreement. 1. With this agreement, it has shown that it has high possibilities of becoming a guarantor country, and both Russia and Ukraine can demonstrate their trust in Turkey in a comfortable way. 2. Russia was forced to accept dependence on Turkey in a serious sense in the face of the difficulties caused by the sanctions against it. 3. Even in the most difficult moment, Turkey has the opportunity to think about food security not only for itself, but also for other countries. Considering all these mentioned, both Russia and Ukraine may remain dependent on Turkey for a long time in some matters, especially in the formation of foreign trade relations. Turkey’s main profit here is to further strengthen its influence in the region and the world, increase its economic opportunities and ensure its internal and external security.
The Writer is Head of Center for International Relations and Diplomatic Studies.