Russia confirms Erdogan's statement that the Black Sea grain deal is to resume

According to AA, Erdogan made the announcement at the Justice and Development (AK) Party's group meeting in parliament.

Erdogan said that the day before, on November 1, he had a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He also plans to discuss the "grain corridor" with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on November 2.

Erdogan also noted that Sergey Shoigu, Russia’s Minister of Defense, had a phone conversation with Hulusi Akar,Turkish Defence Minister.  After the call, the Turkish representative said that the "grain corridor" will resume its work on November 2 at 12:00.

Meanwhile, the Russian side, which initially wanted to disrupt the agreement, officially confirmed that the operation of the "grain corridor" is being resumed. Soigu said that Russia received the "necessary written guarantees from Ukraine regarding the non-use of the humanitarian corridor and Ukrainian ports for conducting hostilities against the Russian Federation."

• On October 29, the Russian Federation announced the "suspension" of its obligations under the agreement regarding the safe export of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea.

• Volodymyr Zelenskyi said that he was sure that the Russian side planned to disrupt the agreement back in September.

• On September 30, NATO and the EU called on Russia to uphold its obligations regarding the "grain agreement".

• On November 1, the Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company (UDP) announced it is starting the "Danube Grain Route" project after Russia's withdrawal from the "grain initiative".

• On the same day, Ukraine, the UN and Turkey announced they would continue the implementation of the "grain agreement", at the same time the Russian Federation demanded additional security guarantees.

• On November 2, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan held a phone conversation with Putin regarding the "grain corridor".