Turkish efforts to alleviate a global food crisis by negotiating safe passage for grain stuck in Black Sea ports were met with opposition, with Ukraine accusing Russia of imposing unreasonable conditions and the Kremlin saying free shipment was contingent on the end of sanctions.
War between Russia and Ukraine, the world’s third and fourth largest grain exporters, has contributed to food price inflation and jeopardised global food supplies.
In nearly 15 weeks of war, Russia has seized large parts of Ukraine’s coast, and its warships control the Black and Azov Seas, impeding Ukrainian farm exports and driving up grain prices.
Ukraine and the West accuse Moscow of attempting to weaponize food supplies. Russia claims that Ukrainian mines at sea and international sanctions against Moscow are to blame.
Turkey’s foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, said on Wednesday in Ankara alongside his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, that talks were fruitful and that restarting Ukrainian grain exports along a sea corridor was reasonable.
Lavrov stated that Ukraine must demine its ports as a prerequisite for safe shipment.
Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesman, told reporters that Russian grain volumes could only be delivered to international markets if sanctions were lifted. He stated that ‘there have been no substantive discussions about this yet.’
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