Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky during a call on Monday that Ankara places “special importance” on efforts to establish a secure corridor for exports of Ukrainian agricultural products by sea, a call. Turkish readout said.
On Friday, Zelensky said that 22 million tonnes of grainAccounting for nearly half of Ukraine’s grain export supply, Russia is being held in place by the blockade of the main export routes through the Black Sea and the Azov Sea.
According to the readout, Erdogan told Zelensky that Turkey did everything possible to continue talks between Moscow and Kyiv and is ready to provide more assistance, including mediation.
Erdogan also told the Ukrainian leader that Turkey would welcome – in theory – joining a potential Istanbul-based surveillance center with the participation of Ukraine, Russia and the United Nations.
Erdogan also spoke to Putin on Monday: Russia’s leader said Moscow would support “uninterrupted” exports of Ukrainian grain from Ukrainian ports, according to a Kremlin readout of Monday’s call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Erdogan.
The Kremlin said the two leaders had “intense” discussions on “topics of bilateral cooperation, mainly in the trade and economic sphere”.
“When discussing the situation in Ukraine, the issues of ensuring safe navigation in the Black and Azov seas were emphasized,” it added.
According to the Kremlin, Putin conveyed Russia’s “readiness” to “facilitate uninterrupted sea transit of goods in coordination with Turkish partners”, adding that the situation “applies to grain exports from Ukrainian ports”. ,
According to a readout of the Kremlin’s call on Monday, Putin said, Russia is also prepared to “export significant amounts of fertilizer and agricultural products” if the sanctions imposed on the country are lifted.
According to a Turkish readout of talks between the two leaders, Erdogan offered To negotiate Between Russia, Ukraine and the United Nations in Istanbul.
CNN’s Anna Chernova and Niamh Kennedy contributed reporting to this post.