ISTANBUL - A former US official said Recep Tayyip Erdogan deserved to be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, citing the Turkish president’s efforts on the Ukrainian grain export deal.

Former US Undersecretary of Defense Dov S. Zakheim penned an article, “The triumph of Turkey’s Erdogan” for the Hill news website that was published Friday where he wrote: “His authoritarian domestic policies render it unlikely that the liberal Norwegian Nobel Committee would give him much in the way of consideration, but surely Erdogan deserves at least to be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.”

He said “unpredictable” is an understatement when describing Erdogan.

“Despite his conducting what appears to be a most confusing foreign policy — and maybe in some respects, because of it — Erdogan, 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.”

“There can be little doubt that the grain agreement represents a major triumph for the Turkish president, “ he said.

Türkiye, the UN, Russia and Ukraine signed a deal last week in Istanbul to reopen three Ukrainian ports -- Odesa, Chernomorsk, and Yuzhny -- for grain exports stuck for months because of the Russia-Ukraine war, which is now in its sixth month.

A Joint Coordination Center was established to carry out inspections at the entrances and exits of harbors and to ensure the safety of the routes, according to the deal.