Milliyet: Ukraine, Turkey, UN and Russia to hold talks on Ukrainian grain exports next week

Representatives of Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the United Nations are to meet in Istanbul next week to discuss the issue of unblocking Ukrainian grain exports.

This was reported by the Turkish newspaper Milliyet, citing sources close to the Turkish president.

The composition of the negotiating team is currently unknown. The newspaper writes that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres may take part in the meeting.

At the same time, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed contacts with Turkey on the export of grain from Ukraine and added that "negotiations will be held via the Ministry of Defense". Other mentioned participants of possible negotiations do not comment on this information.

• The Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba stated that Ukraine is ready to create the necessary conditions for the resumption of exports from the port of Odesa.
• President Volodymyr Zelensky believes that weapons are the best guarantee of security for Ukrainian ports and unblocking grain exports.
• Turkey and Russia have agreed on a plan to safely export Ukrainian grain and unblock the port in Odesa. However, Ukraine still doubts whether to agree to it.
• On June 14, US President Joe Biden said that the United States and European allies were working to remove the blocked Ukrainian grain by rail. To do this, they plan to build granaries near the border with Ukraine.