Sergei Lavrov and his counterpart Mevlüt Cavusoglu were discussing ways to establish secure maritime corridors
in the Black Sea to allow ships to transport these foodstuffs abroad.
A naval blockade by the Russian Navy prevents ships from leaving the port of Odessa, the most important for grain exports, while other ports, including those of Berdyansk and Mariupol, are now in the hands of the Russian army .
The blocking of Ukrainian cereals is driving up prices and raising the specter of a global food crisis, particularly in several countries in North Africa and the Middle East. Markets are globalized, however, the repercussions will be felt around the world.
At the request of the United Nations, Turkey has offered its assistance to escort maritime convoys from Ukrainian ports, despite the presence of mines, some of which have been detected close to the Turkish coast.
In a press conference after the meeting, Mr. Lavrov reiterated that Russia is ready to offer security guarantees
and would not take advantage of the situation to push his advantage on the military ground. These are guarantees given by the President of Russia
Vladimir Putin, he said.
« We say every day that we are ready to guarantee the safety of ships leaving Ukrainian ports […] in cooperation with our Turkish colleagues. »
The responsibility for clearing the Black Sea ports, however, lies with kyiv, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky categorically refuses
to do so, he added.
The Ukrainian government has effectively mined its ports to prevent Russian landings on its shores.
Russian demands legitimate
in the eyes of the Turks
Mr. Cavusoglu recalled that Russia is however demanding the lifting of sanctions which indirectly affect its agricultural exports, to facilitate Ukrainian exports.
« If we are to open the Ukrainian international market, we believe that removing obstacles to Russian exports is legitimate. »
He specifically cited exports grain and fertilizer
Russians, which are not directly targeted by Western sanctions, but which are prevented by the suspension of banking and financial exchanges.
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In Moscow and kyiv, the reactions were hardly encouraging.
In a call with reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stressed that there was no no substantive discussion
on the lifting of the sanctions demanded by Moscow.
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko, for his part, said in a tweet that the security guarantees offered by Mr. Lavrov are only empty words
.
« Military equipment is required to protect the coastline and a naval mission [est nécessaire] to patrol export routes. Russia cannot use the grain corridors to attack southern Ukraine. »
<q data-attributes="{"lang":{"value":"fr","label":"Français"},"value":{"html":"La véritable cause de cette crise: it’s about Russian aggression, not sanctions”,”text”:”The real cause of this crisis: it’s about Russian aggression, not sanctions”}}”>The real cause of this crisis: it is Russian aggression, not sanctionsthen told the press the head of Ukrainian diplomacy, Dmytro Kouleba.
kyiv wants to participate in the negotiations
Ukrainian Ambassador to Turkey Vasyl Bodnar also stressed that no agreement can be reached without kyiv at the negotiating table.
Wednesday’s talks in Ankara took place in the absence of a Ukrainian delegation.
Photo: The Canadian Press/AP/Russian Foreign Ministry
He maintained that Russia was asking to be able to carry out checks on the ships that would use a possible corridor, a proposal which he considers unrealistic.
Ambassador Bodnar, however, acknowledged that Turkish mediation was essential in this case.
The spokesman for the administration of the Odessa region, Serguiï Bratchouk, for his part defended the Ukrainian point of view. If Ukraine demines the port of the city, Russia will want to attack, she dreams of parachuting troops
he said in a video message on Telegram.
The Russian Black Sea Fleet will pretend to withdraw towards annexed Crimea. But as soon as we clear the access to the port of Odessa, the Russian fleet will be there
he added, pleading for Ukrainian grain convoys to be escortedOTAN“,”text”:”by NATO countries”}}”>by the countries of theOTANthe military alliance of which Turkey is a member.
Half-full grain silos at the dawn of harvest
Grain silos in Ukraine’s Kyiv-controlled territory are already half full as the annual harvest approaches and Russia continues to block ports across the country, the head of the Ukrainian Grain Growers’ Association, Mykola, said on Wednesday. Gorbachov.
Some 30 million tonnes of grain are stored in Ukrainian-held territories, out of a total capacity of around 55 million tonnes, he told an International Grains Council conference in London. A storage capacity of 13 to 15 million tons exists in the areas occupied by Russia.
Without access to its Black Sea ports, Ukraine will be able to export 20 million tonnes of grain at best next year, with alternative road, river and rail routes limiting exports to a maximum of 2 million tonnes per month. Last year, 44.7 million tons of cereals were exported.
According to Mr. Gorbachov, half of the corn harvest of Ukraine, the world’s fourth largest exporter, will remain in the ground if Russia maintains its blockade of the Black Sea ports. I can tell you that we will not find a solution (for) exports
without access to these ports, he claimed.
Adding to these tensions are accusations that Moscow stole and exported 600,000 tons of grain from Ukraine, and shipped 100,000 tons of grain to Syria by sea, according to evidence. registered by the United States
, the deputy director of the Union of Ukrainian Agricultural Producers said on Wednesday. These claims cannot be verified.
Mr. Gorbachov believes that the Russian-Turkish talks on the resumption of Ukrainian exports are not likely to lead to the necessary security guarantees. He therefore calls on the United States, the United Kingdom and France to provide a safe convoy for ships carrying Ukrainian grain out of the country.
Before the war, kyiv exported 12% of the world’s wheat, 15% of corn and 50% of sunflower oil each month.