Could Sochi talks revive the Black Sea grain deal?
A look back at the Putin–Erdoğan meeting held on 6 September 2023, and the grain agreement it was meant to restore.
Could a meeting in Sochi bring back the Black Sea Grain Initiative? That was the question hanging over the talks reported on 7 September 2023, a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met in the Russian city on 6 September.
According to reports from the time, the two leaders discussed reviving the arrangement that allowed grain to cross the Black Sea.
What the initiative was
The Black Sea Grain Initiative was an agreement between Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations. It was created after Russia's February 2022 invasion brought maritime grain shipments from Ukraine, previously a major exporter via the Black Sea, to a complete halt. Russia also temporarily stopped its own grain exports. The result, as the background describes it, was a rise in world food prices, the threat of famine in lower-income countries, and accusations that Russia was weaponizing food supplies.
Turkey hosted discussions from April 2022, with UN support. The agreement was signed in Istanbul on 22 July 2022 and was valid for 120 days. It set out procedures for exporting grain safely from certain ports. A joint coordination and inspection centre was established in Turkey, with the UN serving as secretariat.
The Sochi meeting
The talks in Sochi centred on reviving that mechanism so that grain could again pass across the Black Sea. The reports from 6 September 2023 did not describe any outcome, and the meeting stands as an attempt to restart the arrangement rather than a completed deal.
