Putin and Erdogan discuss grain export deal: Russia needs security guarantees from Kyiv

On November 1, Russian President Putin held a telephone conversation with his Turkish counterpart Recep Erdogan. During the conversation, Putin named the terms, on which Moscow would be resume its participation in the grain export deal, TASS reports.

Russia will return to the grain export deal only after Kyiv provides security guarantees and refuses to use the provisions of the treaty for its own military purposes, Putin told Erdogan.

"The Kyiv regime, with the support of its Western supervisors, used the sea humanitarian corridor that had been set up for the transportation of Ukrainian grain to carry out attacks on infrastructure and warships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol that ensured the safe operation of the afore-mentioned corridor,” the Kremlin said in a statement following the talks.

Earlier, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin announced similar conditions for Russia to return to the grain export deal.

Russia announced the suspension of its participation in the grain export deal after a drone attack on the warships of the Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol on October 29. Russia's Defence Ministry said that the attack was conducted by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The ministry also accused the United Kingdom of being involved in the attack and called the incident a terrorist attack. The attacked warships were used to ensure the safety of the grain export corridor.

Here is more from the telephone conversation between Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan:

• Putin said that Kyiv, with the support of the West, used the grain corridor to attack Sevastopol and the warships that guarded the corridor;
• The President of the Russian Federation told Erdogan that the return of the Russian Federation to the grain deal could be possible after an investigation into the attack on Sevastopol and security guarantees from Kyiv;
• The Russian president pointed out to Erdogan a failure to fulfill the second part of the grain deal to unblock exports of Russian agricultural products and fertilizers to world markets;
• Putin confirmed Russia's readiness to supply large volumes of grain and fertilizers to Africa free of charge.