Negotiations between Turkish and Russian Foreign Ministers Mevlut Cavusoglu and Serhiy Lavrov have ended in Turkey. They spoke, in particular, about the war in Ukraine and the unblocking of Ukrainian ports.
This was reported by the Turkish news agency Anadolu.
According to Cavusoglu, recent statements "give reason to hope for a return to the negotiation process between Russia and Ukraine".
"Today there is a more positive atmosphere for the resumption of the negotiation process [between Russia and Ukraine] than a few weeks ago," the minister explained.
As for the issue of Ukrainian grain exports, Cavusoglu noted that Ankara considers the plan to create a "grain corridor" in the Black Sea realistic.
"On the issue of the ʼgrain corridorʼ, we are discussing the mechanism with the participation of the UN, Russia, Ukraine, and Turkey. If there are products that the worldʼs countries import from both Ukraine and Russia, we must jointly open the way for supply," said the Turkish Foreign Minister.
According to the Turkish Minister, it is also important to coordinate the safety of navigation in the Black Sea.
- As Russia blocks Ukrainian ports, 23.5 million tons of grain and oilseeds remain in Ukraine. Ukraine has already started supplying grain to the world market by truck, rail, and river.
- On June 6, Bloomberg reported that Turkey and Russia had agreed on a plan to safely export Ukrainian grain and unblock a port in Odesa. However, Ukraine still doubts whether to agree to it. On the same day, President Zelensky said that neither he nor Minister Kuleba had been invited to a meeting in Turkey on grain exports.