Russia Willing to Facilitate Food Exports From Ukraine

On Wednesday, Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergey Lavrov met with Turkey's Foreign Affairs Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Ankara to discuss issues related to the situation in Ukraine and bilateral relations.

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One of the purposes of his trip is to analyze the establishment of a "safe corridor" that would facilitate the export of up to 20 million tons of Ukrainian wheat in order to avoid a global food crisis.

Currently, food shortages in international markets are caused by the blockade of Odessa and other Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea. The discussion of solutions with Turkey is appropriate given that this country controls the Dardanelles and Bosporus straits, which provide access to the Mediterranean Sea from the Black Sea, where Russia and Ukraine also have coasts.

After the meeting with the Turkish minister, Lavrov again confirmed that Russia is ready to provide written guarantees that it will not attack ports on the Black Sea in order to facilitate the export of Ukrainian grain.

"President Vladimir Putin has already publicly said that we guarantee the safety of these routes. We also guarantee that if Ukraine agrees to demine the ports and let the ships out, we will not take advantage of this situation amid the special military operation," Lavrov said.

The Russian Foreign Affairs Minister and Cavusoglu discussed the possibilities of resuming negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv to advance a peaceful solution to the conflict. They also analyzed the state and prospects of Russian-Turkish relations and the situation in Syria, Libya, the Balkans, Afghanistan, and Central Asia.

For its part, Turkey supports facilitating Russian grain and fertilizer exports, which have been affected by the suspension of financial exchanges due to Western sanctions. At the request of the United Nations, Turkey offered its help in escorting sea convoys from Ukrainian ports. For the moment, however, Ukraine refuses to demine the port of Odessa, citing security risks.