Zelensky and Erdogan agree to work on a Black Sea grain corridor at Istanbul talks

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the Dolmabahce Presidential Office in Istanbul on Saturday 31 October, during what Turkey’s Directorate of Communications described as a working visit.

“Today, I reached an agreement with President Erdogan to work on the Black Sea grain corridor,” Zelensky told a joint news conference, according to Türkiye Today. He said much of the discussion focused on the Black Sea and accused Russia of worsening the situation there.

Erdogan said fighting had recently spread into the Black Sea and that attacks on civilian vessels “serve no one”. “We cannot accept these attacks in any way, no matter who they come from and whatever their justification,” he said. He said Turkey would continue talks with the parties, including Russia, to restore safe navigation, and reaffirmed Turkey’s support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity.

Zelensky said Ukraine was preparing for a three-way format with the United States and Russia, expected in the first half of November, and that the two leaders discussed possibly holding meetings in Turkey. He cited the recent humanitarian operation in occupied Oleshky (our earlier report) as evidence that de-escalation steps are possible.

Background: Turkey and the United Nations brokered the Black Sea Grain Initiative in July 2022 to let Ukraine export grain by sea during the war; Russia withdrew from it in July 2023. A Turkey-Ukraine free trade agreement signed in 2022 took effect on 1 October, Erdogan said.

US angle: Erdogan said he welcomed renewed diplomatic efforts to end the war, citing those of US President Donald Trump.