One of the most significant events in recent days was the deal signed between Turkey, the United Nations, Russia and Ukraine on grain exports. This deal stopped the possible starvation of thousands of people in Africa and low-income countries around the world.
Under the deal brought to life by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's initiative in Istanbul, grain exports will depart from three Ukrainian ports and will be coordinated by a center in Istanbul.
After coming together for this deal, Turkey and Russia will meet once again on Aug. 5 during an important visit. Erdoğan will travel to Sochi to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. I should note that Erdoğan and Putin met recently during a trilateral gathering with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Tehran to discuss the situation in Syria.
The upcoming meeting between Erdoğan and Putin will probably cover several vital areas. Besides Ukraine and Syria, the two leaders also have topics to discuss concerning bilateral relations.
The Russian state-owned company Rosatom is transferring $20 billion for a nuclear power plant project in Akkuyu, Turkey. Around $5 billion was sent last week to the developer and the rest is coming in the following weeks. The Akkuyu nuclear power plant is the largest of its kind in the world and the project has received financing from Russia’s biggest lender, Sberbank, and Sovcombank. Since economic relations between Turkey and Russia are expanding this topic will most probably be one of the most important discussion points in Sochi.
The relationship between the two countries is quite strong. In order to understand the extent of it one can look at the Turkish companies holding contracts for 31.75 billion cubic meters (bcm) a year of Russian gas, which meets almost 45% of its needs.
However, although Turkey needs Russian gas it is not solely dependent on Moscow since Turkey is a NATO ally and a country with strong relations with the West. This makes Ankara a very strong actor in the Ukraine-Russia war.
The deal signed in Istanbul will enable the safe export of Ukrainian grain. Ukraine has announced that it is ready and waiting for a sign from Turkey and the U.N. The grain deal is a major diplomatic victory for the Erdoğan government which achieved this deal after months of shuttle diplomacy between Russian and Ukrainian leaders.
Erdoğan heads to Sochi with this confidence and he has strong cards in his pocket.