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It is a meeting aimed at resetting ties between turkey and russia following his reelection in may, the turkish leader has taken steps criticized by moscow as hostile. The main issue however is the revival of the grain deal brokered by turkey and the grenade and nations withdrew from in july. Can erdogan use his close relationship with putin . Reporter turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan is seeking to reestablish himself as a mediator between russia and the west over the war in ukraine. Top of the agenda is meetings with president Latimer Putin vladimir putin. Last year, turkiye mediated a agreement allowing grain exports to pass safely through the black sea. It was a relief to developing countries. In july, putin declined to agree to the deal. The United Nations is calling on all parties to find a solution. We believe the black Sea Initiative has given a important contribution to food markets. More adequate to our object of food security. Lately, relations between putin boko and erdogan have been strained. The meeting is evidence that turkiye remains some sway with russia. The question is whether it is enough to produce results. Folly lets meet our guest for todays show. In moscow, a former russian ambassador. In bangkok, a Global Affairs analyst and senior fellow at the atlantic council. In istanbul, associate professor. A warm welcome to you well. Before we discuss what was achieved and not achieved in sochi, want to ask you about the state of the relationship today between turkey and russia. Let me start with you. How would you describe this relationship today between president erdogan and president putin . Is it on solid ground . The relations on several questions we are developing our relations, successful especially in the economic field. Some are regional have different points of view. As far as the grain deal, there was another discussion. I do not think it was a breakthrough or anything of this kind just because the main problem dealing with the grain deal is the attitude of the western countries. We are afraid that turkiye and the president cannot had the opportunity to affect the rest of the western countries so it could be all these negotiations is kind of futile. No major breakthroughs i am the grain deal in sochi. On the grain deal in sochi. We saw russia criticized turkey for its stance on ukraine for accepting and supporting ukraines bid to join nato. Do you think russia views turkey today as a trustworthy and reliable partner . No. After what happened during the last months and the last weeks and after the decision of president erdogan to return back the criminals to ukraine. After this of course we cannot classify our relations as a kind of friendly relation. He just said the russians do not view this relationship between putin and erdogan it is a friendly one, but the russians do not see erdogan as a reliable partner. It has been a very difficult balancing act for present erdogan. How solid of a relationship is as far as turkey is concerned . It is a fact that the relationship between turkey and russia is not as close as they have been before the elections in the summer. Since the elections in summer, and president erdogans victory, we have seen him turn his face more toward the west, which is in line with turkish traditional Foreign Policy from which president erdogan had been deviating over the past couple of years. He would have conflicts in the United States particularly in syria and also again conflict in the u. S. About the coup attempt in turkey in 2016. Erdogan had blamed the United States for taking part, implicitly supporting the coup. Since then, Turkiye Erdogan has been pursuing closer relationships with russia, so i would think relations with russia can only be understood [indiscernible] there has been a gap between turkey and russia since the elections. Because of domestic pressure. Erdogan has been following a strategy of adding some of the opposition agenda to his own agenda. So prorussian policies or return to orthodox economic policies. Since the elections, erdogan has been adept in some of these policies. Adapting some of these policies. Let me ask michael for his thoughts. Does turkey still play a leading role today . Sure. I am glad the guests from russia underscored the importance of neighborly relations. I hope when he goes home he will take a long look in the mirror and ask how russia has been treating its neighbor, ukraine. In terms of the relationship, if there is no agreement, it is a loss for Global Security because i think that relationship was important because putin and erdogan had a pretty good talking relationship. Erdogan is one of the few leaders who has putin on speed dial so to speak. I think he really wanted to see some resolution to this deal. Erdogan rarely goes into high stakes negotiations without getting something out of it. He also want into this for domestic consumption they also talked about nuclear energy, tourism and trading in their own currency. The turkish economy is not in very good shape so he had to show something coming out of that as well. I wanted to come back to andre and talk about the grain deal. We heard president putin say russia would only be ready to rejoin the deal once agreements are fulfilled. Talk to us about the conditions and why russia pulled out that the agreement and what it wants to see happening in order for it to rejoin. It was the only way out for us because for one here Nothing Happened dealing with the obligation of the western countries to give the opportunity for the russian grain and fertilizer. The rest of the countries do not fulfill their obligations. Only 3 of the grain came to africa. More than 80 came to europe. The pretext for the agreement was the necessity to fulfill the grain export to africa and other countries that are in need because of the hunger. It was a great mistake of our government that we waited for one year before we terminated our participation. We should have done it after two or three months. Let me ask michael to respond to that. Over 50 of the 33 Million Metric Tons of grain went to developing countries. I returned from the brick summit and mr. Putin put out the same inaccuracies that only a small sliver of the grain went to poor countries. That is not true. The figures are online. Your response to that . I wanted to find out why even after russia pulled out of the deal, why did it also attack ukrainian grain Storage Facilities . We sought attacks sought attacks on the port of odessa. We are waiting for the western countries either give the opportunity for our green and fertilizers to go or we will make direct agreements with african states. The six african states in the weeks to come we will supply them free of charge, but this is not the way of developing the trade relations. We do not have any other opportunities. Your thoughts about what weve just heard . Also, how do you think turkey and Putin Erdogan can convince russia to return to this deal . Does president erdogan have the leverage to convince the west to perhaps accept some of these proposals from russia . First of all, i should also start with saying that before i said how erdogan is trying to restore his relationship with the west, but this does not mean he is willing to give up russia as a trade partner or a strategic ally. Erdogan and putin are both pragmatic and flexible leaders and i would expect erdogan would try to keep relations positive with putin. The revival of the grain corridor is important for erdogan. One for keeping food prices down. That is important because now local elections are coming up in march. In addition to that, erdogan has been branding himself as someone who can talk to both the west and russia. This has been important for him. Also domestically, that has been given him prestige. So he will try to convince western actors to allow russian exports to reach Global Markets and the Russian Agricultural Bank to be connected to the swift system again. Perhaps erdogans now closer relationship to the west can pay off and be useful in actually benefiting russia. Michael, president erdogan today said moscow has a right to refuse the deal in its current form because it was not there. At the same time, he was the one who negotiated the deal in the first place for the United Nations. How do you explain this change in tone . I think what happened months before the deal, was the russians were deliberately slowing down clearance of those shapes that were leaving ukraine and going to foreign markets, so they basically sabotage the deal themselves. The other thing is, if i can go back to something you said earlier about russians bombing ukrainian port infrastructure, lets call a spade a spade. These strikes are a direct strike on the global food supply chain. I do not share the outrage from western capitals that this is happening. I think the russian strategy is to decimate ukraine important infrastructure to the degree that it can function and the russians thinking they will be able to get world buyers to buy grain from them. That would be a bad development. Ukraine needs to proceed with those unilateral corridors that they have established across the black sea in recent weeks, convert container ships that carry grain with the cover western ally support. Surveillance planes and armed escorts. Why should poor people in egypt and many other countries be starving to death because of the arrogance of a small group of men in the kremlin . Lets allow andre to respond. Cheap propaganda we are hearing each day. As an ambassador i should go on respondent for such claims. We are ready to return back only with one condition. If the shipments of the russian grain and fertilizer go on and we have the proof that these export facilities are accomplished, only after that can be turned back to the grain deal. Until now it is a fraud deal. Everything is in the hands of our former western allies. If they give access for our shipments, it will be ok. If not, we will block the rest of the deal because it is fair. From the very start, we were ready to deliberate. We gave access to the ukrainian grain, but we waited several months for the other part of the grain deal to be accomplished. But we did not have any opportunity for our shipments and that was the start of the presentday crisis. At a time when we see of ukraine intensify its offensive, is there a real appetite for negotiation . Or is it just talk . I think the western countries can amuse themselves. We are a great country. We have grain, oil, gas, sophisticated weaponry. Of course, it is not a pleasant thing to have sanctions against us. We will go on with our development on all of this. Soon the day will come when the western countries will stop their stupid policy to try to sanction the largest country in the world. In the richest country as far as material sources are concerned. Lets try to move the conversation forward now. President erdogan has offered himself as a mediator to settle the ukraine conflict. I want to ask you whether this is feasible. Can he use his close relationship with putin to move toward a settlement of this conflict in ukraine . Well, he is going to try. It is very important for him for international and domestic politics. It would be a great achievement for erdogan and could help him expand his support base back home. Despite what many people expected since the elections, he has been not polarizing, but try to unify the opposition and his supporters. So i think that would success their reach and between ukraine and russia, that would grant him the power to proceed the prestige. Probably it will be his last term as president and he would like to be remembered with this legacy, so he will try and the leverage he has. The close relation he has with the west for that purpose, but of course there are multiple actors and we cannot quite predict why each actor will do. So i cannot say whether peace will be reached in the short run or in which period it will be reached. I think it is in the best interest of all actors. Thank you one statements about the United Nations statements about softening sanctions, i could see that some of russian demands will be respected in the short run compared to the past couple of months. Michael, your thoughts about the sanctions which andre also talked about. He said at some point the sanctions will have to go. To give diplomacy a chance. Under no circumstances should they be loosened. They should be tightened because you still have people in elite circles around putin invested in certain countries and traveling with abandon. It would set a bad precedent if the United Nations and debug European Union allow the russian banks to get back into swift. It what only encourage other dictators to act like russia. As our guest from russia was speaking, he forgot to mention that authoritative bodies have been tracking these phantom russian ships that have been turning up their transponders and shipping illegally stolen ukrainian grain through russian ports to world markets. They are acting like sea pirates and should be held accountable for that as well. Andre, your response if you want to respond. I think we can doubt the sincere wish of erdogan to be a sincere mediator. He is the member of the nato and we are openly having the war against medo and nato and the territory of ukraine. I do think these attempts of mr. Erdogan will reach some intangible success. It seems to me that mainly these attempts to underline his opportunity to be the mediator because of their attempts in the United Nations, to go on with securing the new role of turkiye and Security Council arrangements. They are giving the argument that turkey should be within the Security Council because it is very important and major mediator. That is why mr. Erdogan [indiscernible] coming back to my question, the work cannot go on forever. Is russia interested in settling this conflict . I think the majority of the countries do not understand or they tend to make a show they do not understand. There was 1. 2 million traders of the territory of ukraine. The countries of europe helped hiller against the soviet union. Michael, i will allow you to respond briefly. It is almost not worth responding because it is the typical russian narrative. What we are seeing happening in term of diplomacy, the world getting much smaller for russia, now they are going to be doing diplomacy with iran, china, other rogue states. I wish them luck with that. We have run out of time. Thank you so much for a great discussion. And thank you as well for watching. You can always watch this program any time by visiting our website at aljazeera. Com. You can join the conversation on x, formerly known as twitter. Thank you for watching. [expl

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