ANKARA, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that his country planned to produce flour from Russian wheat for free delivery to the least developed countries.
Erdogan said he had agreed with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on such a plan, in an effort to tackle the global food crisis, semi-official Anadolu Agency reported.
"Mr. Putin made the following offer to me, 'Let's send this grain to the least developed countries, that is, to the poor countries for free.' We agreed too," Erdogan was quoted by Anadolu as saying.
"We even made such a plan that we will buy the wheat if necessary, make it flour in Türkiye, and then send it to the least developed countries," the Turkish president told reporters on his flight back from Qatar.
On July 22, Russia and Ukraine separately signed a document in Istanbul with Türkiye and the United Nations to ensure grain and fertilizer supplies to the global market amid the Russia-Ukraine armed conflict. The deal was extended last week for another 120 days.
Since July, nearly 11.2 million tons of essential foodstuffs have been shipped. However, 300,000 tons of Russian fertilizer remain stranded in various European ports, according to United Nations Conference on Trade and Development Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan.
Ankara says it has been making efforts to pave the way for the resumption of Russian grain and fertilizer export to world markets as well. ■