The second round of peace talks between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations was held yesterday. The parties agreed to create humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of civilians and food and medicine deliveries. Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba over the phone that the corridors will allow the evacuation of Turkish citizens and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to these regions. However, the beginning of the ceasefire hasn’t been clarified yet.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan provides significant support to Ukraine and takes many steps to end the war, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. “We purchased Turkish combat drones, which helped us. There are many issues that President Erdogan helps us with. Turkey is one of the countries that can introduce security guarantee for Ukraine,” Zelensky said.
The Russia-Ukraine war may drag Turkey into the sunflower seed oil crisis. Turkey, which is the world’s top sunflower seed oil importer, mainly imports it from Ukraine and Russia. However, Russia doesn’t permit 15-16 Turkish vessels loaded with sunflower seed oil to depart from the Sea of Azov. Turkey, which has sufficient sunflower seed oil stocks until mid-April at the latest, may experience a crisis if those vessels don’t arrive in the country. The Vegetable Oils And Fats Industrialists Association (BYSD) demanded an urgent attempt by the Foreign Ministry and the Russian Embassy for Russia to permit the departure of vessels.
The war has also started to adversely affect other sectors such as transportation. Major troubles have started to emerge on the Russian route after transportation to Ukraine was halted. Trucks that couldn’t go from Turkey to Russia through Ukraine have been directed to the Georgia route. As the capacity is limited, a 20-kilometer line has emerged on the Georgia-Russia border. Access to exporting trucks has become impossible as transporters don’t want to go to Russia due to security concerns. Freight prices have nearly surged by 50%. Turkish trucks, which departed from Turkey to export fresh fruits and vegetables to Ukraine, have been directed to other countries. On the tourism side, early reservations have been cut from Russia and Ukraine.
DAILY AGENDA
The Parliament will continue to discuss the legislative proposal on the Nuclear Regulation Law (2.00 pm).
The Central Bank will release the Real Effective Exchange Rate (REER) for February (2.30 pm).
The Central Bank will release Monthly Price Developments Report for February.
Meanwhile…
>> Residents’ FX deposit accounts rose by USD 185m in the week ending on February 25 compared to the previous week, according to parity-adjusted data. Residents’ FX deposit accounts totaled USD 215.8bn as of February 25, according to the Central Bank.
>> The Central Bank’s international net reserves dropped by USD 1.61bn to USD 18.18bn in the week ending on February 25, compared to the previous week. The bank’s total reserves dropped by USD 867m to USD 113.14bn in the same period.
>> Foreign investors’ net equity, government debt securities (GDS), and corporate bond outflows from Turkey amounted to USD 87.1m and USD 370.8m and USD 8.9m respectively, in the week ending on February 25, according to the Central Bank.
>> Some 49,424 new coronavirus cases and 188 deaths due to COVID-19 were reported in the last 24 hours by the Health Ministry.
