Talks between the leaders of Russia and Türkiye on reviving the lapsed Black Sea grain deal have ended with no agreement in place.

Speaking after his meeting with Türkiye's President Erdogan at the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi, Vladimir Putin said a revival was possible but only if Russia's conditions were met.

The UN brokered agreement, which established safe routes transporting millions of tons of grain and other agricultural exports across the Black Sea, collapsed on July 17. Moscow withdrew, claiming that the terms were unfair to its own farmers.

The Kremlin has since put forward proposals to supply African countries with a million tons of grain via Türkiye, backed by financial subsidies from Qatar. However, speaking in Sochi on Monday, Putin stressed this is not an alternative to renewing the former safe passage deal.

"We will be ready to consider the possibility of reviving the grain deal, and I told Mr President (Erdogan) about this again today". He added: "We will do this as soon as all the agreements on lifting restrictions on the export of Russian agricultural products are fully implemented."

Putin denied claims that Russia had exacerbated a food crisis in parts of Africa by suspending cooperation, saying grain prices did not rise on its exit from the deal. "There is no physical shortage of food," he said.

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Since July, pressure has been building from Washington, and the European and African Unions to resurrect the Black Sea deal or find a workable alternative. Türkiye, which helped broker the original agreement, came to the event in Sochi seeking to persuade Moscow to reconsider its position.

Speaking after talks with Putin, Erdogan said he was still hopeful. 

He said: "We prepared a package containing new suggestions in consultation with the United Nations. I think it's possible to get results with this new process. As Türkiye, we believe that we will hopefully reach a solution that will meet expectations in a short time." 

However, Erdogan added that this may involve concessions from Kyiv, stating that "especially Ukraine needs to soften its approach on the point of being able to take mutual steps with Russia."

Ahead of the Sochi talks, Kyiv claimed that Russian drones had been detonated on Romanian territory, in an overnight air strike on a Ukrainian port across the Danube River. However NATO member Romania denies this.

Ukraine's River Danube ports have become central as a route for grain exporters seeking overseas markets.

Regarding the failure of these latest efforts to reopen the Black Sea, Joseph Glauber, Senior Research Fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute told CGTN "the most immediate pain comes to Ukraine producers… as that is a low cost way to export grain."

He added: "The degree with which they are forced to use alternative routes all adds costs and that unfortunately means much lower prices."

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