ISTANBUL: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will speak with his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts in the coming days with the aim of restoring the grain export deal, the Turkish foreign minister said Tuesday.

“Our president will speak with (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelensky in the coming days,” Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters.

“We believe we will overcome this… (The grain deal) benefits everyone.”

Continuing grain deal without Russia would be ‘dangerous’: Kremlin

Turkey, one of the brokers of the July agreement alongside the United Nations, has stepped up diplomatic efforts to salvage the deal signed by warring nations Russia and Ukraine.

Moscow has said it has suspended its participation for an indefinite time after accusing Kyiv of a “massive” attack on its Black Sea Fleet in Crimea on Saturday.

The agreement set to be renewed on November 19 aimed at reducing the global food crisis stoked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February and had already allowed more than 9.7 million tonnes of Ukrainian grain to be exported.

Erdogan said on Monday Turkey would pursue efforts to keep the agreement in force despite Russia’s hesitation.