Erdogan warns of 'another Chernobyl' after talks with Ukrainian president

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned of a nuclear disaster in Ukraine during his first direct talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky since the Russian invasion, repeating calls made by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who is visiting Odessa on Friday.


The outbreak of fighting around Europe's largest nuclear facility located in southern Ukraine and under Russian control, prompted a number of world leaders to issue urgent warnings, including Guterres, who warned during talks with Erdogan that any damage to the plant would be tantamount to "suicide."


"We are worried. We do not want to live in another Chernobyl," Erdogan told a press conference in the western city of Lviv, assuring President Zelensky that Turkey was a strong ally of Ukraine.

"While we continue our efforts for a solution, we have been and will remain on the side of our Ukrainian friends," the Turkish president said.


Guterres, for his part, said he was "deeply concerned" about the situation at the station, which he said should be "demilitarised".

"We have to say things as they are: any possible damage to Zaporizhia would be tantamount to suicide," he added.


Erdogan, who has a major geopolitical rivalry with the Kremlin but maintains a close working relationship with Vladimir Putin, met the Russian president less than two weeks ago in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.


Turkish President and Guterres were key mediators in an agreement signed in Istanbul last month that allowed the resumption of grain exports from Ukraine after the Russian invasion cut off essential global supplies.


Prior to the press conference with Zelensky, the Ukrainian Ports Authority announced that the 25th cargo ship had sailed, under this agreement, to Egypt carrying 33,000 tons of grain.


Ukraine and Russia are two of the world's largest grain exporters.

The halt in exports has pushed up grain prices and raised fears of a global food shortage.


Guterres said during a meeting with journalists that the parties hope to intensify efforts to enhance operations in three southern ports designated to deal with exports under the agreement, stressing, "We will do everything in our power to intensify our operations in order to meet the difficulties of the coming winter."


Guterres continues his visit to Ukraine on Friday with a trip to Odessa, one of the ports covered by the agreement to resume grain exports.

He is expected to go to Turkey at a later time to visit the body charged with overseeing the export agreement.

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