Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the UN have not yet reached any agreement for the Ukrainian grain and wheat exportson which the food safety in many countries of the world, but this one seems closer. Russia has ajar this Wednesday the door to the exit of Ukrainian grain and has been willing to give formal guarantees that it will not attack the ports, in exchange for Ukraine demining the coast and the ports. kyiv has seeded its waters of water mines to avoid a Russian naval invasion and now he doesn’t quite trust Moscow.
“We want to establish a mechanism together with the UN to overcome these obstacles and cooperate. We believe that reaching a reasonable agreement and acceptable to both parties will be possible”, said Turkey’s Foreign Minister, Mevlüt Çavusoglu, after meeting in Ankara with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov. Çavusoglu recalled that Turkey, which is mediating between the two countries on this issue, offers to give security Ukrainian freighters leaving the Black Seasomething that Russia, in Lavrov’s words, would not be against.
“If the area is not cleared of mines, the corridors of wheat and cereals will not be able to occur. And there is already a global food crisis. In the previous weeks I was in Latin America and the concern is very great. That is why the veto on Ukrainian wheat must be lifted and a conclusion that is beneficial to all must be reached. […]. We see it as legitimate for Ukraine to want to export flour and wheat, as we also see as legitimate for them to be raised sanctions against Russia in these products”, added Çavusoglu, implying, indirectly, that one of the conditions of Moscow would be the lifting of these Western sanctions.
Accusations to the West
Lavrov has also referred to the issue: “This food crisis does not come out because of this conflict”, said the Russian minister, who directly blames Europe and USA for its limits on exports of Russian products.
The Russian foreign minister has also blamed Ukraine of naval blockade the country is experiencing —a blockade imposed by Moscow after the beginning of the invasion in February— and for which Kiev it cannot export the wheat and grain that it keeps in its silos.
“Russia has done its part, and every day we open corridors for ukrainian freighters Come in. We are ready to provide security for Ukrainian ships, together with our Turkish partners. But [el presidente ucraniano, Volodímir] Zelenski seems not to be up to the job. He doesn’t seem willing to get over the problem. The ball is in your sideLavrov said.
Turkey, since the beginning of the war, tries to mediate between Moscow and kyiv, and now, together with United Nationsis trying to create a grain corridor so that Ukraine can resume its wheat exports, stopped during the war by the Russian naval blockade. Russia and Ukraine are the world’s great breadbaskets: without their wheat, warns the UN, a global food crisis could be budding.
“The efforts of our Turkish friends are very important, and they are trying to get the Ukrainian ships to leave the port. western media it is shown as if these freighters and their crews were ours prisoners. It is not like this; we constantly open corridors for them to come out,” Lavrov said during his visit to Turkey, where he has not met any Ukrainian officials.
conflict in syria
The ministers have also spoken about the syrian conflict and the hypothetical “imminent” new military operation turkish north Syria against the Kurdish militias of the YPG, linked to the guerrilla of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)in conflict with Turkey since the 1980s.
Russia, with a presence in northern Syria, does not view a new Turkish military operation in the country with bad eyes; a position not shared by the other NATO countries and the US, which oppose the Turkish plans.
“We fully understand the concerns of our Turkish friends about the threats they receive on their southern border. Unfortunately, the United States fuels this type of terrorist organizations, [el PKK]. We know about the situation and we continue to collaborate on this matter”, said Lavrov, just before finishing the press conference.
Just then there was a shock. Without a turn to speak, a journalist got up to ask his question. “Give him a microphone. This is a free country“, Lavrov and Çavusoglu have said.
“For a Ukrainian television: apart from Ukrainian wheat, what else has Russia stolen from Ukraine?“, the Ukrainian journalist asked Lavrov. “No. Our objective is clear: to save people from neo-nazis. We want to emancipate the Russians and Ukrainians from neo-nazi regime. We have not done anything of what he says, nor do we put obstacles in the way of Ukrainian wheat coming out,” the Russian minister replied.