No pain, no grain

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in Sochi, Russia, on Sept. 4, 2023.
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in Sochi, Russia, on Sept. 4, 2023.
Sputnik/Sergei Guneev/Pool via REUTERS

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s weekend meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has failed to revive the Black Sea grain deal. The UN-brokered agreement, which guaranteed safe passage for Ukrainian grain shipments to markets in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, had been on hold since July. Russia refused to extend the deal, citing a failure to honor a parallel agreement to remove obstacles to its food and fertilizer exports.

On Monday, Putin reiterated this demand. "We will be ready to consider the possibility of reviving the grain deal … we will do this as soon as all the agreements on lifting restrictions on the export of Russian agricultural products are fully implemented.” Moscow is also demanding that the Russian Agricultural Bank be reconnected to the SWIFT international payments system, from which it was cut off as part of EU sanctions for its invasion. The UN had offered to reinstate this relationship in July to keep the grain deal alive.

Erdogan offered his own prescription for reviving the deal: “Ukraine needs to especially soften its approaches in order for it to be possible for joint steps to be taken with Russia" and export more grain to Africa rather than Europe. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba “took note” of Erdogan’s position, but added, "We should not continue to be hostages to Russian blackmail, where Russia creates problems and then invites everyone to solve them.”

To deflect criticism that Russia is starving developing nations of much-needed food, Russia is set to supply up to one million tons of grain to Turkey at reduced prices for processing at Turkish plants and shipping to countries “most in need.” Putin is also brokering a deal to send free grain to six African countries: Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia, Eritrea, and Central African Republic.

But Russia’s moves aren’t all bread and roses: They will also conveniently purchase political capital for Russia’s war in Ukraine and expand its influence over the African continent, an arena where Russia has been increasingly active in recent years.

More from GZERO Media

The White House is seen from a nearby building rooftop in Washington, D.C. on May 4, 2023.
(Photo by Bryan Olin Dozier/NurPhoto) via Reuters

During the 2024 election campaign, US President Donald Trump made a plethora of ambitious promises to the American electorate and pledged to make them come true fast. He even suggested he’d be a dictator for a day to get them done. As he approaches the 100-day mark of his second presidency, GZERO assesses the extent to which he’s achieved his goals.

- YouTube

“We’re heading toward a substantial U.S. recession,” said Robert Kahn, Eurasia Group’s Managing Director of Global Macro. “We may even be in one now.” That notion challenges the official economic outlook released this week by the International Monetary Fund, which was more cautious in its assessment.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is seen as he meets with Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani at the Department of State in Washington DC on Tuesday, April 22, 2025. Secretary Rubio has announced a dramatic reorganization and shuttering of multiple organizations within the State Department.
(Photo by Aaron Schwartz/Sipa USA) via Reuters

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a reduction in State Department staff and bureaus on Tuesday as the Trump administration continues its staffing and program cuts. But some diplomats are breathing a sigh of relief.

Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas speaks during a press briefing on the World Economic Outlook during the 2025 World Bank and IMF Spring Meetings on April 22, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Photo by Samuel Corum/Sipa USA

“Just since January, we’ve entered into a new era,” IMF’s Chief Economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas told the press Tuesday at the Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.

Containers on a cargo ship are seen at an industrial port in Tokyo, Japan April 3, 2025.
REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Chinese Premiere Li Qiang sent Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba a letter asking that they “fight protectionism together,” according to local reports Tuesday, as both countries face potentially disastrous US tariffs.

In this new episode of Tools and Weapons, Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith and former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer share insights on the early days of Microsoft and the pitch that convinced Ballmer to join the company. They explore his journey from scaling the company from a small 30-person startup to one of the most valuable companies on the planet. They also discuss how three traits — irrational confidence, realism, and persistence — have helped him succeed at Microsoft and today as the owner of the LA Clippers. Subscribe and find new episodes monthly, wherever you listen to podcasts.