Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said that the United Nations plan to solve the Ukrainian grain export crisis provides for the establishment of 3 safe lines in the Black Sea without removing all sea mines, at a time when Ankara and the United Nations are overseeing intensive negotiations to remove Russia and Ukraine's reservations in order to implement the UN plan. .
The Turkish Foreign Minister had said two days ago that clearing the mines around the Ukrainian ports will take some time, and that at the same time it is possible to establish safe sea lanes in the mine-free areas, adding that Ankara is still waiting for Moscow's approval of the UN plan.
While Russia says it is Ukraine's responsibility to clear its ports so that merchant ships can approach, Kyiv fears that clearing its ports will make it more vulnerable to Russian attack from the Black Sea.
The Russian navy is imposing a blockade on the Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea, after taking control of all the coastal strip in the neighboring Sea of Azov. The port of Odessa, southwest of Ukraine, is its largest port for exporting grain to the rest of the countries, as the country is the fifth largest exporter of wheat in the world.
The Turkish Foreign Minister had discussed a plan to solve the Ukrainian grain export crisis with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, last week, and said that there was a need for further discussions with Moscow and Kiev. Ankara also suggested hosting a four-way meeting with the United Nations, Russia and Ukraine to organize grain transportation in the Black Sea, in light of The presence of 20 million tons of grain stuck in Ukrainian ports.
The reservations of the parties
And it is not only Ukraine that expresses reservations about the UN plan to solve the grain crisis. The Russian side also has reservations. The Turkish Foreign Minister said a few days ago that Russia wants to make sure that ships that come to Ukrainian ports to ship grain will not transfer weapons to Kyiv.
The spokesman for the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Stephane Dujarric, said earlier that the Turkish army will have an important role in implementing the UN plan to solve the Ukrainian grain export crisis, but the matter - the spokesman adds - requires the approval of the Ukrainian and Russian sides.
The United Nations says it is conducting intensive contacts with the Turkish authorities to resolve the Ukrainian grain crisis stuck in the ports due to the war that has been going on since Moscow launched its military offensive on its neighbor at the end of last February.
In this context, a few days ago - on a Turkish initiative - a red line was established between the defense ministries of Turkey, Russia and Ukraine in order to coordinate efforts to solve the crisis of the exit of cargo ships carrying grain from Ukrainian ports.
Russia said on Wednesday that it could guarantee a safe passage for Ukrainian grain shipments from the Black Sea ports, but that it was not responsible for establishing safe lines for these shipments.
temporary silos
On the other hand, US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said on Thursday that the temporary silos that his country proposed to establish on the Ukrainian border with Poland aims to prevent Russia from stealing Ukrainian grain, and to ensure that the winter harvest in the country is not lost due to lack of storage.
The Polish Minister of Agriculture Henrida Kowalczyk said the day before yesterday that the construction of grain silos on the Polish-Ukrainian border "will take 3-4 months." infrastructure, finance and property.
Ukraine was exporting up to 6 million tons of grain per month before Russia launched a war on its neighbor on February 24, which Moscow calls a special military operation.
Ukraine's grain exports have fallen to nearly one million tons per month, which has forced Ukraine, which used to export most of its goods by sea, to transport grain by train across its western borders or through its small ports on the Danube.