Türkiye doesn't connect Russia's exit from "grain deal" with decision on NATO expansion

Chief Advisor to the President of Türkiye Akif Cagatay Kilic expressed this position in an interview with CNN, Ukrinform reports.

"We have been as a NATO ally, so very open in our relationship with the Russian Federation," Kilic said when asked whether Ankara's decision to support Sweden in the Alliance could have caused some friction with Russia and influenced the Kremlin's decision to withdraw from the grain deal.

"We are very closely working together with all the parties there, but also with the Russian Federation, and I don't believe that is that there's friction regarding the NATO Summit," the representative of Türkiye added.

As Ukrinform reported, on July 11, Türkiye announced its support for Sweden's application to join NATO after several months of blocking this decision. Later, Russia announced that it would suspend its participation in the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which was signed on July 22, 2022, in Istanbul.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the grain initiative could operate without Russia's participation, and by withdrawing from the agreement, Russia was disrupting its own agreements with Türkiye and the UN, as Ukraine has no agreements with the Russians.

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