RUSSIAN FM LAVROV IN TURKEY FOR TALKS ON UKRAINE GRAIN EXPORTS

Wed 08 June 2022:

On Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in Turkey for a two-day visit to discuss unblocking grain supplies from Ukraine, which have been stalled by Moscow’s offensive.

According to an AFP photographer, the jet carrying Lavrov landed at the airport in Ankara, Turkey’s capital.

This is Lavrov’s second trip to Turkey, following his March 10 meeting in Antalya with his Turkish and Ukrainian counterparts, Mevlut Cavusoglu and Dmytro Kuleba.

At the request of the United Nations, Turkey has offered its services to escort maritime convoys from Ukrainian ports, despite the presence of mines – some of which have been detected near the Turkish coast.

Lavrov is accompanied by a military delegation.

At the heart of the negotiations is the opening of a security corridor to ship Ukrainian grain – cereals and wheat in particular – blocked in the war-torn country’s ports.

Clear mines

Speaking to reporters after a cabinet meeting on Monday, Turkish Defence Minister, Hulusi Akar, stated that Ankara, Kyiv, Moscow and the United Nations are discussing ways to clear mines floating off the Ukrainian port of Odessa and elsewhere along the Ukrainian coastline.

A number of other issues that are being discussed include who will clear the mines, and who would safeguard a safe shipping corridor in the case of an agreement being made by the four signatories.

As for Turkiye’s role in the plan, it is reportedly prepared to play a leading part in an “observation mechanism”, which may involve the Turkish navy escorting tankers leaving Ukraine and heading toward the Bosphorus Straits toward the international market.

“We are making efforts to conclude this as soon as possible”, Akar stated, assuring that “a lot of progress has been made on this issue”. Meanwhile, technical planning continues to take place, with Turkish Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, set to host his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, for talks on the plan tomorrow.

Since the launch of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing conflict in the latter’s territory, exports of essential supplies such as grains and wheat across the world have been hit hard, especially due to the fact that both Russia and Ukraine produce and export around 30 per cent of the world’s wheat supply.

In light of the looming global food crisis and the crippling shortages predicted to be seen throughout the world later this year, Turkiye’s attempts to mediate between Moscow and Kyiv have taken a new form in the facilitation of the potential safe shipping corridor to revive exports of the essentials from Ukrainian ports.

If the Black Sea ports remain blocked and besieged by Russia, Ukraine will only be able to export a maximum of 2 million tons of grain per month, Ukrainian deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food, Taras Vysotskyi, announced on Tuesday.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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