Pres. Criticises NATO Allies; Will Talk w/Putin & Zelensky On Grain Deal

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has confirmed that he will hold a call with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Speaking at the TRT Wolrd Forum, Erdogan states that he will also talk to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an effort to maintain the uneasy truce over grain shipments from Black Sea ports brokered by Turkey and the UN.

• Erodgan criticises some NATO allies, who he says are providing weapons to 'terrorists' in northern Syria. Singles out the US, saying that despite Turkey being an ally of the US Washington, D.C., provides weapons and planes to Greece but there is still no deal with Turkey on F-16 jets.
• Call w/Putin comes as Turkish demands regarding insurance on oil tankers travelling from the Black Sea through the straits of Bosphorus and the Dardanelles leads to a logjam on the crucial shipping route.
• Following the imposition of a price cap on Russian oil by the G7, ship owners are not able to access insurance or other financial services from European providers unless the oil is sold below the cap of USD60/bbl. This has left Turkish authorities concerned of the impact of accidents or spills from uninsured tankers traversing their waters.