In response to Blinken's request, Lavrov announces Russia's readiness to negotiate a solution to the Ukrainian grain crisis

On Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov expressed his country's readiness to negotiate with Turkey and Ukraine to resolve the grain crisis, in response to the request of his American counterpart Anthony Blinken from Russia to allow grain to leave Ukraine.

Speaking from the Indonesian island of Bali, where he is participating in the meeting of foreign ministers of the Group of Twenty, Lavrov said, "Russia and Turkey are ready to ensure the safety of ships carrying grain up to the straits outside Ukrainian waters."

Lavrov stressed that Russia "does not mind solving the global grain problem by using the Russian grain stockpile," noting that "unilateral Western restrictions related to securing Russian ships and preventing their entry to ports cause a problem in the way food products are paid for."

"If the West really wants to get Ukrainian grain out of the Black Sea ports, Kyiv must be forced to clear those ports of mines and allow the ships to leave Ukrainian waters," he added.

"We are ready to negotiate with our Ukrainian and Turkish colleagues about the grain problem, this problem has solutions. Ukraine should lift the blockade of its ports, remove mines from them, and ensure the safe exit of ships," he added.

American request

On the US side, a Western diplomatic official said that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken addressed his Russian counterpart in closed-door talks of the Group of Twenty in Bali, asking Moscow to allow the shipment of grain from Ukraine.

According to the Western official - who was present - Blinken told Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov after refusing to meet with him in private, "To our Russian colleagues, Ukraine is not your country and its grain is not your grain. Why do you close the ports? You must allow the grain to leave."

Blinken spoke to the Russian delegation about US financial aid to deal with global food shortages caused by the war in Ukraine, one of the world's largest grain exporters. "Russia is the source of the problem, and the United States is focused on solutions," the Western official said.

It is noteworthy that the export of Ukraine's production of grain stopped after the war launched by Russia, which caused a price hike that particularly affected poor countries. Kyiv, which fears for the safety of its coasts on the Black Sea.