Russia is not ruling out any scenario regarding the possible resumption of the now-defunct Black Sea grain deal, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday, quoted by "Reuters".
On Thursday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, speaking after a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, said they discussed navigational security in the Black Sea, including the grain deal.
Asked about a possible renewal of the deal on Friday in light of Erdogan's comments, Peskov said:
" The Kremlin does not rule out any agreements. President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said that he is open to dialogue."
Peskov stressed that any agreement on the grain would have to be reached as part of a package of issues "in the general context of the current situation".
We remind you that Russia withdrew from the deal in July last year. Russia's reasoning for withdrawing was that its own food and fertilizer exports were facing obstacles and that not enough Ukrainian grain was going to countries in need. Before that, it was carried out through the mediation of the UN and Turkey.
Russia has blockaded Ukrainian ports since invading the neighboring country in February 2022 and threatened to treat all ships as potential military targets after pulling out of a UN-backed Ukrainian grain deal in July.
In response, Ukraine announced a "humanitarian corridor" spanning the western Black Sea coast near Romania and Bulgaria.
On Thursday, Ukraine seized a foreign cargo ship in the Black Sea off Odessa and detained the captain on suspicion of helping Moscow export Ukrainian grain from Russian-occupied Crimea.