New talks on ‘grain corridor’ for Ukrainian agricultural exports announced by Turkey
Akar said representatives of Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the United Nations would take part in the talks.
Read also: Turkey plays a delicate balancing act between Ukraine, Russia and NATO
“Tomorrow, Ukrainian grain waiting in the ports of Istanbul will be safely shipped to international markets by sea,” Akar said.
“The negotiations will be held by military delegations from the Ministries of Defense of Turkey, the Russian Federation, Ukraine, as well as a UN delegation.”
Read also: Turkish ports allow docking of Russian ships with stolen Ukrainian grain – Skhemy
Russia is deliberately blockading Ukrainian ports and sea routes in the Black Sea to prevent grain exports from Ukraine. Russia is also attempting to prevent the export of Ukrainian grain by rail, inflicting missile strikes on grain elevators and railway infrastructure.
The Kremlin’s strategy appears to be to provoke famine in African countries, which it hopes will lead to a wave of migration to Europe, destabilizing the social, economic and political situation in the European Union.
Kremlin officials have demanded that the sanctions imposed on the Russian Federation for the war in Ukraine be lifted in exchange for lifting the blockade of Ukrainian ports. Earlier, Politico reported that the United States would not lift sanctions against Russia in exchange for grain.
Read also: How Russian aggression in Ukraine threatens a global food crisis
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on July 4 announced that Ukraine was negotiating with Turkey and the UN about opening up a route for grain exports.
Read also: Russian invaders steal at least 400,000 tons of grain from Ukraine, says Agrarian Ministry
Earlier, on July 1, Ukraine asked Turkey to take urgent measures due to the arrival of the Zhibek Zholy bulk carrier in the port of Karas with stolen Ukrainian grain shipped from the occupied city of Berdyansk.
Ankara released the ship with stolen grain on July 7. The Turkish Ambassador to Kyiv was invited to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry to offer explanations for this.
