kyiv has criticized the Russian naval blockade of its shores because it prevents it from exporting millions of tons of grain that it has stored, which could lead to famine in the coming years. months
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu (REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File)
The Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, will go to Turkey on June 8 to discuss the deployment of “safe corridors” for the transport of Ukrainian grain, his Turkish counterpart Mevlüt Cavusoglu announced on Tuesday.
“Lavrov will come to Turkey on June 8 with a military delegation to discuss, among other things, the establishment of safe corridors for grain transportation. This is the most important issue”, said the minister who wants to “create a corridor observation center in Istanbul”.
The minister did not specify how it could take this center nor the exact role that Turkey would play.
Russia has been willing to lift the naval blockade on Ukrainian grain exports in exchange for the lifting of certain Western sanctions against Moscow, a claim that is considered blackmail by kyiv and the Western powers. Ukraine has criticized the Russian naval blockade of its coasts because it prevents it from exporting millions of tons of grain that it has in storage, which could lead to famine in the coming months.
A ship passes through the Bosphorus to the Black Sea, in Istanbul (Reuters)
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday that he is willing to work with this country on the free movement of goods in the Black Sea, including cereals from Ukraine, in a phone call with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
“Vladimir Putin highlighted Russia’s readiness to contribute to the unhindered maritime transit of goods, in coordination with Turkish partners. This also applies to grain exports from Ukrainian ports,” the Kremlin said in a statement.
Turkey is the main country on the shores of the Black Sea, in its south bank, next to Russia in the north.
Maritime traffic has been complicated since the beginning of the conflict due to the blockade imposed by the Russian Navy on Ukrainian ports and the presence of sea mines, some of which have broken off and come close to the Turkish coast.
An ally of Ukraine, to which it supplies combat drones, Turkey has managed to maintain relations with Russia, on which it depends for its energy supply.
Other bilateral and regional issues will also be addressed at the diplomatic meeting, such as the situation in Syria and Turkey’s ambition to control a border strip across the north of that country to protect itself against the Kurdish-Syrian YPG militias.
Russia is the main ally of the Syrian president, Bashar al Assad, while Turkey supports armed factions that seek to overthrow him and also fight against the YPG, which maintain a tense relationship of neutrality towards the regime of Assad.
(With information from EFE and AFP)