Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that not all issues related to the export of Ukraine’s grain from the Black Sea ports have been resolved, state news agency TASS reported.
Putin made the statement at a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the Iranian capital Tehran.
Putin thanked Erdogan for his efforts in mediation and providing a Turkish platform for negotiations on food security problems and the issue of exporting grain through the Black Sea ports.
“With your mediation, we have moved forward. True, not all issues have yet been resolved, but the fact that there is movement is already good,” Putin said.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, Moscow was slapped with crippling sanctions by US and its European allies. The sanctions have disrupted supplies of fertilizer, grains and other commodities from both Russia and Ukraine, which together produce 30 percent of global wheat supply.
The disruption in supply has caused what international officials have described as a food crisis.
Erdogan has offered to mediate between Russia and Ukraine and his government has been making efforts towards alleviating the food crisis through facilitating diplomatic negotiations between both sides.
