ANKARA
\nRussia and Turkey on Wednesday voiced support for the creation of a safe maritime corridor in the Black Sea so Ukraine can export grain to global markets amid an escalating world food crisis. A Turkish minister said the move should also be accompanied by the easing of Western sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
\nTurkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu hosted his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Ankara for discussions focused on a U.N. proposal to free Ukraine\u2019s Black Sea ports and allow some 22 million tons of grain sitting in silos to be shipped out.
\nUkraine is one of the world\u2019s largest exporters of wheat, corn and sunflower oil, but the war and a Russian blockade of its ports have halted much of that flow, endangering food supplies to many developing countries. Many of those ports are now also heavily mined.
\nUkraine\u2019s government was not represented at the Ankara meeting but has expressed concerns that removing mines from its ports to facilitate grain exports could allow Russia to attack its southern coast.
\nLavrov promised that Russia would not \u201cabuse\u201d its naval advantage if Ukraine\u2019s ports were demined and would \u201ctake all necessary steps to ensure that the ships can leave there freely.\u201d
\noth Russia and Turkey would also benefit from the export plan. The same corridor would also allow Russia to export food and fertilizer. Turkey would facilitate and protect the transport of the grain in the Black Sea, Turkish officials say.
\n\u201cAs Turkey, we find this plan reasonable and see it as a feasible one,\u201d Cavusoglu told a joint news conference with Lavrov.
\nThe scheme, however, would require negotiation between Moscow and Kyiv, he added.
\nThe Turkish minister also backed easing Western sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine if it participates in the U.N. plan, saying that seemed \u201cquite legitimate.\u201d
\n\u201cIf the whole world is in need of the products to be exported by Ukraine and the Russian Federation, then a method needs to be established,\u201d he said, adding that he hoped \u201ctechnical preparations\u201d could be made \u201cas soon as possible.\u201d
\nUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed the creation of a safe sea corridor last week, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said Tuesday. It also called for security guarantees, such as a supply of weapons to defend against maritime threats and the participation of third-country naval forces.
\nKremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday the Russian military would need to check commercial ships taking the grain to make sure they don\u2019t carry weapons. He added that after they are loaded with grain, Russia would help escort the ships to international waters.
\nTurkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said Tuesday that technical details were still being worked out.
\n\u201cOur efforts are continuing concerning the technical planning on such issues as how it will be done, how the mines will be cleared, who will do it, how the corridor will be established and who will escort (ships),\u201d Akar said.
\nAddressing the possibility of resumed peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow, Cavusoglu said Turkey was \u201cmuch more optimistic.\u201d
\nTurkey hosted previous talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials in March but since then little progress has been made.
\n\u201cWe see an optimistic atmosphere in terms of going back to the negotiation table,\u201d Cavusoglu said, citing recent comments by Zelenskyy. He reiterated Ankara\u2019s offer to oversee a meeting between Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
\nLavrov said Russia was willing to hold further talks but accused Zelenskyy of \u201cchanging his position all the time\u201d over conditions for a leaders\u2019 summit.
\nLavrov arrived in Turkey days after NATO members Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Montenegro reportedly refused to allow his plane to fly through their airspace to reach Serbia. Lavrov\u2019s plane was able to fly directly to Turkey over the Black Sea.
\nLavrov\u2019s discussions in the Turkish capital also focused on Turkey\u2019s plans to launch a new cross-border offensive in northern Syria against Syrian Kurdish militia that Ankara considers to be a security threat. Turkey needs Moscow\u2019s approval to continue its presence in northern Syria, despite the two supporting opposite sides in Syria\u2019s civil war. In 2020, 37 Turkish soldiers were killed in Russia-backed airstrikes against rebels in Syria\u2019s last rebel-held Idlib province.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ANKARA Russia and Turkey on Wednesday voiced support for the creation of a safe maritime corridor in the Black Sea so Ukraine can export grain to global markets amid an escalating world food crisis. A Turkish minister said the move should also be accompanied by the easing of Western sanctions against Russia for its invasion […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":265173,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[338,1385,456],"class_list":{"0":"post-265140","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-russia","9":"tag-turkey","10":"tag-ukraine"},"yoast_head":"\n