NextFin news, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan revealed on November 23, 2025, at the G20 leaders’ summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, that he will engage in a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on November 24 to discuss conflicts related to the war in Ukraine and the crucial Black Sea grain corridor. The announcement followed Erdogan’s recent meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Ankara, demonstrating Ankara’s dual diplomatic outreach toward both Moscow and Kyiv. Erdogan emphasized full mobilization of Turkish efforts to facilitate peace and expressed hope that renewed dialogue would successfully revive the grain corridor, a vital export route suspended by Russia in July 2023 amid tensions.
This initiative aligns with Turkey’s prior role as a broker in negotiating the original 2022 grain deal facilitating Ukrainian agricultural exports and broader peace efforts, including hosting initial Russia-Ukraine peace talks. Erdogan framed the grain corridor reopening as instrumental in paving the way toward peace, emphasizing Turkey’s readiness to exert continuous influence wherever regional conflicts threaten stability, including in Sudan and the Gulf region.
Concurrently, high-level diplomacy is underway at various fronts. The United States, under President Donald Trump’s administration, has been promoting a 28-point peace proposal aimed at resolving the Ukraine conflict. This comprehensive plan includes contentious points such as territorial concessions and military limitations but reportedly incorporates many Ukrainian priorities, according to negotiator Rustem Umerov. President Zelenskyy acknowledged that the plan might reflect Ukraine’s interests, while European leaders voiced the necessity of adjustments. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz expressed skepticism about meeting the US-imposed November 27 deadline for agreement but supported incremental progress.
The direct talks Erdogan plans with Putin coincide with multilateral efforts, including negotiations in Geneva among US, Ukrainian, and European officials seeking viable ceasefire and settlement mechanisms. Turkey’s mediation is pivotal given its strategic geographic position, relations with both adversaries, and ability to influence Black Sea security. Erdogan’s dialogue with Putin is also expected to revisit grain trade, a matter with broad economic implications affecting global food markets, energy dynamics, and geopolitical alignments.
The resumption of the Black Sea grain corridor could alleviate mounting global food insecurity exacerbated by disrupted Ukrainian exports, estimated to amount to billions of dollars of agricultural commodities annually. Economically, this could stabilize grain prices, ease inflationary pressures on food staples worldwide, and mitigate supply chain disruptions affecting both developed and developing economies. Politically, successful mediation may enhance Turkey’s diplomatic stature while applying pressure on the involved parties toward constructive negotiation.
Looking ahead, Erdogan’s engagement with Putin is emblematic of Turkey’s expanding role as a strategic interlocutor amid a highly complex international conflict environment, where competing interests of the US administration under President Trump, European Union, NATO members, and Russia converge. The outcome of these talks will be instrumental in shaping the trajectory of the Ukraine conflict resolution process, influencing regional security, energy flows through the Black Sea, and global economic stability. Should these diplomatic efforts catalyze substantive progress, Turkey may emerge as a decisive broker in ending the protracted conflict, although entrenched positions and geopolitical calculations will continue to present formidable challenges.
Explore more exclusive insights at nextfin.ai.
