Any Initiative To Isolate Russia Is Bound To Fail: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

The G20 Joint Declaration stressed the need for the revival of the Black Sea grain deal to ensure smooth flow of food grains from prominent ports in Russia and Ukraine.

New Delhi: After the G20 Declaration called for the revival of the Black Sea Grain Deal, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday said any initiative in this direction is bound to fail unless it involves Russia.

Speaking on the concluding day of the 18th G20 Leaders’ Summit, being held in New Delhi under India’s presidency, Turkish President Erdogan said, “We believe that any initiative that isolates Russia is bound to fail. Its success is a very little possibility. We believe that any step that may escalate the tensions in the Black Sea should be avoided.”

Also weighing in on the challenges to global food security, the Turkish president stressed the need for talks involving all “stakeholders”, including Russia and Ukraine, saying, “In order to support the global food security, food supply security, we are going to bring together the Food Supply Security Study Group, both Russia, Ukraine, as well as the United Nations, and with our stakeholders coming from the international community, we are going to have continuous talks.”

Meanwhile, sharing the details of the bilateral meeting with the Turkish president earlier on Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted on X (formerly Twitter), “Met President @RTErdogan. We talked about ways to further cement trade and infrastructure linkages between India and Türkiye. @trpresidency.”

"India is our greatest trade partner in South Asia. And we have great potential to enjoy primarily in the field of economy and many others," the Turkish President said after the meeting.

The G20 leaders adopted a Joint Declaration, which reiterated PM Modi’s suggestion to Russian President Vladimir Putin that the current era should not be one of war. They also stressed the need for the revival of the Black Sea grain deal to ensure smooth flow of food grains from prominent ports in Russia and Ukraine.

It is to be noted that in July, Russia had pulled out of the Black Sea grain deal, that was brokered by UN and Turkiye, to ensure safe transport of food grains from and to Ukraine, also known as the breadbasket of Europe.

President Erdogan also held talks with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Saturday on reviving the Black Sea grain deal, news agency Reuters reported.