War in Ukraine: Turkey's difficult position on grain exports

Vasyl Bodnar, Ukrainian Ambassador to Turkey, in Ankara, Turkey, May 21, 2022. AP - Burhan Ozbilici

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2 mins

The Ukrainian ambassador to Ankara accused Russia on Friday June 3 of "

 " Ukrainian cereals and exporting them from Crimea abroad, in particular to Turkey.

According to the ambassador, Kyiv has "

".

Allied with Ukraine, to which it provides combat drones, Turkey nevertheless takes care to maintain a neutral position towards Russia, on which it depends for its energy and wheat supplies.

Anxious to preserve its image as a mediator, Ankara hopes to contribute to a negotiated solution for the resumption of grain exports from Ukrainian ports.

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From our correspondent in Istanbul

,

Vis-à-vis the Western allies who have shown understanding in the face of its refusal to impose sanctions on Russia, Turkey's position is beginning to become delicate.

Admittedly, attempts at mediation continue behind the scenes, and Ankara remains the privileged intermediary between kyiv and Moscow.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke again by telephone earlier this week with Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky.

However, since a meeting in Istanbul at the end of March, Turkey has not managed to put Russians and Ukrainians around the same table.

Turkey needs a breakthrough

President Erdogan therefore needs progress on the diplomatic front, especially since his blocking of Sweden and Finland joining NATO has earned him more and more criticism within the Alliance. , some even accusing him of playing into Russia's hands.

Turkey thus hopes to contribute quickly to a resumption of Ukrainian grain exports, interrupted due to the blockade of Ukrainian ports by the Russian navy and the mines scattered in the Black Sea.

She offered her help to secure maritime corridors, which would ease the pressure on agricultural markets, whose prices have soared since the start of the war.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is expected in Ankara on Wednesday to discuss it.

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