Report: Türkiye’s Erdogan Spoke with Japan’s Kishida to Revive Black Sea Grain Deal

08 September 2023, India, New Delhi: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) meets with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, ahead of the G20 Summit in New Delhi. (dpa)
08 September 2023, India, New Delhi: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) meets with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, ahead of the G20 Summit in New Delhi. (dpa)
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Report: Türkiye’s Erdogan Spoke with Japan’s Kishida to Revive Black Sea Grain Deal

08 September 2023, India, New Delhi: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) meets with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, ahead of the G20 Summit in New Delhi. (dpa)
08 September 2023, India, New Delhi: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) meets with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, ahead of the G20 Summit in New Delhi. (dpa)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held talks with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the G20 leaders' summit in New Delhi on reviving the Black Sea grain deal, two sources with knowledge of the matter said on Saturday.

Russia quit the deal in July - a year after it was brokered by the United Nations and Türkiye - complaining that its own food and fertilizer exports faced obstacles and that not enough Ukrainian grain was going to countries in need.

The sources who spoke to Reuters on the sidelines of the summit declined to give more details.

Erdogan had said earlier this week, after talks with Russia's Vladimir Putin, that it would soon be possible to revive the grain deal.

He said Ukraine should soften its negotiating position against Russia in talks over reviving the deal and export more grain to Africa rather than Europe.

However, Ukraine on Friday opposed the idea of easing sanctions on Russia in order to revive the deal.

Embassies of Türkiye and Japan in New Delhi did not immediately respond to Reuters' emailed requests for comment.

Japan's foreign minister will meet his Ukrainian counterpart in Kyiv on Saturday, the Japanese foreign ministry said.



Israel Says it Will Re-open Crossing into Gaza as Pressure Builds to Get More Aid In

Israel Says it Will Re-open Crossing into Gaza as Pressure Builds to Get More Aid In
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Israel Says it Will Re-open Crossing into Gaza as Pressure Builds to Get More Aid In

Israel Says it Will Re-open Crossing into Gaza as Pressure Builds to Get More Aid In

The Israeli military said on Friday it was planning to reopen the Kissufim crossing into central Gaza to increase the flow of aid into the southern end of the Gaza Strip.

The move comes amid growing international pressure on Israel to get more aid into Gaza, where aid agencies have warned of a gathering humanitarian crisis in the north of the enclave, where Israeli troops have been conducting a major operation for more than a month.

The new crossing would be opened following engineering work over recent weeks by army engineers to build inspection points and paved roads, the army said, Reuters reported.

Last month, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin wrote to Israeli officials demanding concrete measures to address the worsening situation in the Palestinian enclave.

The letter, which was posted to the internet by a reporter from Axios, gave the Israeli government 30 days to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

Among the demands included in the letter was for the opening of a fifth crossing into Gaza.