Ankara is waiting for a response from Moscow to a proposal to hold a meeting between Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the UN on the export of grain from Ukrainian ports. This was stated on Saturday by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu at a press conference following talks with his Czech counterpart Jan Lipavský, TASS reports.
“We held talks with [Russian Foreign Minister] Sergey Lavrov in Ankara, during which we discussed the resumption of negotiations [between Russia and Ukraine] and the removal of restrictions on the supply of grain. We believe that the plan proposed by the UN [to export grain from Ukrainian ports] is the most correct, and the parties should discuss it. We declared our readiness to hold a meeting in Istanbul on this issue between Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the UN, this is a proposal from the UN. Our position was clearly conveyed, now we are waiting for a response from Russia, as per the meeting, and other details," he said.
According to Çavuşoğlu, Turkey will continue to pay attention to these topics in the coming period.
The issue of creating a "grain corridor" was discussed on June 8 at talks in Ankara by Russian and Turkish Foreign Ministers Sergey Lavrov and Çavuşoğlu. Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier that Moscow would guarantee the unimpeded passage of ships carrying Ukrainian grain if Kyiv cleared its ports of mines, and could ensure the export of goods through Russian-controlled ports such as Berdyansk and Mariupol.
