Negotiations are currently underway with Russia on the status of the “grain deal” after Moscow announced yesterday that it was suspending participation in it, Bloomberg reported on Sunday, citing an unnamed Turkish official.
“Negotiations with Russia on the Black Sea “grain deal” are being held on Sunday, they will continue on Monday, a representative of the Turkish authorities said,” the agency reports.
According to the source of the agency, there are grounds for optimism, despite the current situation.
He also said that ships that have reached Istanbul are being inspected, but no new ships loaded with grain are leaving Ukrainian ports at the moment.
Four bulkers carrying 49,000 tonnes of wheat and soybeans departed from Ukrainian ports on Tuesday after receiving approval from the Joint Coordination Centre (JCC).
“The Joint Coordination Centre (JCC) reports that four vessels left Ukrainian ports today carrying a total of 49,000 tonnes of grain and other food products under the Black Sea Grain Initiative,” the center said in a statement.
In particular, the Matrix vessel carrying 7,000 tonnes of wheat, the Hasan vessel with 6,000 tonnes of soybeans and the Esence bulker with 6,000 tonnes of wheat are bound for Turkey. The Mastro Mitros is carrying 33,000 tonnes of wheat to Israel.
“Grains that reach a destination may go through processing and be trans-shipped to other countries,” the center said.
“As of 18 October, the total tonnage of grain and other foodstuffs exported from the three Ukrainian ports is 7,860,365 metric tonnes. A total of 719 voyages (365 inbound and 354 outbound) have been enabled so far,” it said.
The United Nations, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine signed a document in Istanbul on July 22 on opening a corridor to export grain from three Ukrainian ports – Chornomorsk, Odesa and Pivdenny.
A new law will come into force in Turkey on January 1, 2023, according to which a tax will be charged on accommodation in hotels, guest houses and other tourist accommodation facilities, TGRT Haber TV channel reports.
“The effect of this law was postponed two years ago, however, on the eve of its entry into force in January 2023, the tax administration prepared a draft communiqué containing the details of the document. So, from January 1, in hotels, motels, guest houses, holiday villages, boarding houses, apart-hotels , thermal resorts, campsites will be charged a fee of 2% of the cost of all services. The President of Turkey will have the right to reduce or increase the tax rate within these limits,” writes the portal.
It is noted that the mechanism for levying the tax has not yet been determined. Organized tourists will probably pay for it when buying a tour, and independent travelers will pay when checking out from a hotel. Also, the tax may be levied on the hoteliers themselves, their family members and partners who use accommodation and recreation services for free. Staff working and living on site will not pay the fee.
“The services offered in the accommodation facility, which are sold together with the overnight stay, are subject to the accommodation tax. This includes food, drinks, activities, entertainment services and the use of swimming pools, sports, thermal and similar areas offered in the hotel, as well as all concepts – BB , HB, FB, all inclusive, ultra all inclusive, writes TGRT Haber.
As the portal clarifies, for services provided outside the accommodation facility, for example, transfers, excursions, escorts, a separate invoice is issued without tax.
If the rate is calculated in a foreign currency, it will be converted into Turkish Lira at the rate of the Central Bank of Turkey in force on the date of the taxable event, i.e. the day the stay at the hotel ends, to determine the amount of the fee.
Six vessels carrying nearly 154,000 tonnes of foods departed from Ukrainian ports on Thursday after receiving approval from the Joint Coordination Center (JCC).
“The Joint Coordination Center (JCC) reports that six vessels left Ukrainian ports today [on October 13] carrying a total of 153,505 metric tonnes of grain and other foods under the Black Sea Grain Initiative,” the center said.
In particular, the Wei He vessel is heading to China with 62,860 tonnes of sunflower meal on board, the Marlen bulker is carrying 33,000 tonnes of sunflower oil to Iraq, the Irmgard is carrying 30,817 tonnes of rapeseed to Germany, and the Ak Hamza is carrying 7,000 tonnes of corn to Lebanon.
Another two vessels – the Dignity (14,000 tonnes of corn) and the Yaf S (5,828 tonnes of wheat) – are bound for Turkey.
“Grains that reach a destination may go through processing and be transshipped to other countries,” the JCC said.
“As of October 13, the total tonnage of grain and other foodstuffs exported from the three Ukrainian ports is 7,363,704 metric tonnes. A total of 666 voyages (335 inbound and 331 outbound) have been enabled so far,” the center said.
The United Nations, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine signed a document in Istanbul on July 22 on opening a corridor to export grain from three Ukrainian ports – Chornomorsk, Odesa and Yuzhny.
CHINA, GERMANY, IRAQ, LEBANON, TURKEY, Ukrainian foods, VESSELS
Ankara intends to produce oil and gas in the waters of Libya within the framework of the energy agreement concluded by Turkey with this country, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.
“After the agreement on hydrocarbons signed by us with Libya, we will cooperate in a new area – in the extraction of oil and other resources from the Libyan continental shelf,” Bloomberg quotes him as saying.
Erdogan also announced plans to double the capacity of the Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline (TANAP), which runs from Azerbaijan through Georgia and Turkey to Greece.
Bloomberg recalls that Ankara and the administration of Abdel Hamid al-Dbeiba concluded this agreement last week: he was supposed to leave the post of prime minister after December 25, 2021, but did not do this, citing the disruption of the presidential elections in Libya. As a result, the Prime Minister of another Libyan government, Fathi Bashaga, rejected this agreement, emphasizing that al-Dbeiba does not have the authority to conclude agreements with foreign states.
At the same time, the current agreements are based on the 2019 agreement that Ankara concluded with the previous internationally recognized government of Libya, and to which Turkey provided military assistance in the confrontation with the forces of Marshal Khalifa Haftar.
In turn, the EU said that the new agreement does not comply with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and violates the interests of third parties. Also, Greece, Cyprus and Egypt regard the agreement as an attempt by Turkey to dominate the waters of the region.
In Libya, for a long time, there were two bodies of executive power in parallel: the Government of National Accord in Tripoli, in the west of the country, and an interim cabinet in the east of the country, supported by the army of Marshal Khalifa Haftar. According to Western media, Haftar’s forces were supported by Russia, France, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Greece and Cyprus. On the side of the government in Tripoli, in turn, were Turkey, Qatar and Italy.
In October 2021, in Geneva, representatives of the warring parties signed an agreement on a permanent ceasefire. The presidential elections in Libya, the first after the overthrow and assassination of Muammar Gaddafi, were scheduled for December 24, 2021, but in the end the vote did not take place. This was due to controversy surrounding the electoral law.
GAS, OIL, PRODUCTION, TURKEY
Turkey will not recognize Russia’s request to annex the territories of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia regions of Ukraine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey has said.
“Türkiye did not recognize Russia’s annexation of Crimea in an illegitimate referendum in 2014 and has emphasized its strong support to Ukraine’s territorial integrity, independence and sovereignty on every occasion. In accordance with this stance adopted in 2014, we reject Russia’s decision to annex the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia regions of Ukraine,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey said in a statement on its website.
The ministry said that this decision, which constitutes a grave violation of the established principles of international law, cannot be accepted.
“We reiterate our support to the resolution of this war, the severity of which keeps growing, based on a just peace that will be reached through negotiations,” the ministry said.
