ANKARA: A former U.S. official said President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan deserves to be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, citing the Turkish leader’s efforts in the Ukrainian grain export deal.
Former U.S. Undersecretary of Defense Dov S. Zakheim penned an article, “The triumph of Turkey’s Erdoğan,” for The Hill news website that was published Friday in which he wrote: “(Erdoğan’s) authoritarian domestic policies render it unlikely that the liberal Norwegian Nobel Committee would give him much in the way of consideration, but surely Erdoğan deserves at least to be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.”
“Despite his conducting what appears to be a most confusing foreign policy – and maybe in some respects, because of it – Erdoğan, working alongside the United Nations, was able to broker a deal between Russia and Ukraine that would allow the shipment of grain from Ukrainian ports through the Black Sea,” he said.
Noting that 22 million tons of grains had not moved due to a Russian blockade and that there were disagreements between Moscow and Kyiv about the clearing of mines in the Black Sea, he said: “As a result of the impasse, international food prices skyrocketed and millions were threatened with starvation, creating the prospect of another mass migration to Europe.” The agreement would allow Moscow to export food and fertilizers, he said, adding: “The agreement is literally a lifesaver.” –Agencies
