Türkiye's Erdogan: Grain deal will prioritise African countries in need

The Türkiye-brokered grain deal will prioritise African countries in need as agreed with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said.

"The situation in Djibouti, Somalia and Sudan is not good at all. If there is a problem in any other less developed countries, we will carry out shipments to these countries,"  Erdogan said on Wednesday during a live interview broadcasted jointly by ATV, A Haber, A News and A Para.

Both Russian and Ukrainian leaders approached Türkiye "positively" on the grain export issue, Erdogan said, adding: "We answer them positively."

On July 22, Türkiye, the UN, Russia, and Ukraine signed an agreement in Istanbul to resume Black Sea grain exports, which were paused after the Russia-Ukraine war began in February.

On Saturday, Russia announced that it would suspend its participation in the deal over what it alleged was a Ukrainian attack on its Black Sea fleet at the port of Sevastopol.

But earlier on Wednesday, Türkiye and Russia announced Moscow's return to the implementation of the grain deal following a flurry of Ankara's diplomatic initiatives.

Erdogan lauded for grain deal resumption 

Those initiatives were praised by the US, the UN and Kiev.

After Moscow announced rejoining the landmark deal, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Erdogan for his role in saving the deal.

In a telephone call, Zelenskyy "thanked (Erdogan) for his active participation in preserving the grain deal", he wrote on Twitter following Turkish efforts to revive the July agreement which has played a crucial role in easing a global food crisis sparked by the Russian offensive in Ukraine.

READ MORE: US, UN thank Türkiye over resumption of Black Sea grain initiative