ANKARA:  Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that  his country intends to create flour using Russian wheat and provide it gratis to underdeveloped nations.

Erdogan said that such a strategy had been agreed upon with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in an effort to address the world food crisis. 

"Let's send this grain to the least developed countries, or the destitute countries, for free, Putin suggested to me. We concurred, "On his trip home from Qatar on Monday, the President was cited as saying.

We even came up with a scheme whereby, if required, we would purchase wheat, turn it into flour in Turkey, and then ship it to the least developed nations, he said.

To secure grain and fertiliser supplies to the world market in the midst of Moscow's escalating assault of Kiev, Russia and Ukraine separately signed a pact with Turkey and the US on July 22 in Istanbul.

Last Monday, the agreement was extended for a further 120 days.

Nearly 11.2 million tonnes of critical commodities have been transported since July.

However, according to Rebeca Grynspan, secretary-general of the UN Conference on Trade and Development, 300,000 tonnes of Russian fertiliser are still stuck at several European ports.

Ankara claims that it has been working to clear the way for Russia to resume exporting grain and fertiliser to international markets.

Historic Snowfall: Biden approves emergency declaration for New York

Northern Syria is the target of airstrikes from Turkey

Turkey's desire for closer ties with China is hampered by NATO and the Uygur issue