Erdoğan seen as essential player in brokering grain export deal

Russian President Vladimir Putin considers Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan a "trusted negotiator," a retired U.S. general said, expressing optimism about the resumption of grain trade via the Black Sea.

"To the extent that Putin sees Erdoğan as the trusted negotiator, and maybe (Ukrainian President) Zelenskyy can too, then maybe we can have a breakthrough," retired U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Robert Spalding told Anadolu on the sidelines of the Economic Forum in Karpacz, Poland.

In July, Russia said it would not extend an agreement to allow safe passage of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea rather than Mainland Europe to markets in the Middle East and Africa.

Erdoğan hopes to revive the agreement, which is vital for global food supplies in Africa and the Middle East, as well as Asia.

"I think it's in the best interests of everyone if grain delivery can happen, so personally I don't care who is the one making this happen, but the fact that Erdoğan is willing to do it and the two sides have an interlocutor then I say that's great," Spalding added.

On Monday, Putin said that a deal allowing Ukraine to export grain through the Black Sea would not be reinstated until Russia's demands on its own agricultural exports were met.