Ukraine not invited to Russia-Turkey talks on grain export

pravda.com.ua:  President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine said that neither he, nor Dmytro Kuleba, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, were invited to the Ankara meeting on 8 June, which will address the issue of shipping in the Black Sea, among others.

Interfax Ukraine reports that Zelenskyy made this announcement during a press conference.

"I have not been invited. The Minister of Foreign Affairs has not been invited, as of today," Zelenskyy said in response to a reporter’s question.

According to the president of Ukraine, he has discussed the possibility of Turkey mediating the de-blockade of Ukrainian seaports with Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of Turkey.

"The important fact from our side is that we are ready to export grain…It is important to have a safe passage for the ships – that a fleet of one or another country could ensure the safe passage of the grain exports. That’s it. We have discussed this with both the UK and Turkey…

Turkey is currently looking for a way to offer us [security - ed.] guarantees…I believe that’s why they [the Turkish delegation - ed.] are meeting the Russians, in order for Russia to give Turkey guarantees that nothing will happen to Turkish ships. That’s what I think. But I still don’t know any details about their meeting," Zelenskyy said.

According to him, grain export negotiations with the UN, the Baltic countries, and Poland are also continuing; the export of grain via the railways is being discussed, though this shipping method is not a priority due to long delivery times.

Zelenskyy added that Ukraine can export 10 million tonnes of grain via the ports in Odesa each month.

"Currently around 20-25 million tonnes of grain is blocked there [in Odesa - ed.], but by autumn we will have around 75 [million tonnes - ed.]. What will we do? We can’t manage without the ports," he insisted.

When asked under what circumstances Ukraine will agree to clear the coasts surrounding the ports in Odesa of mines and what country or international body would have to be the security guarantor for Ukraine to agree to do that, Zelenskyy replied: "I believe that the strongest security guarantee is appropriate weapons, which will be positioned in the region where a corridor for grain export will be created.

We are working on this with certain countries, in terms of [those countries supplying Ukraine with - ed.] certain anti-ship systems. We are working on this and are already, little by little, beginning to receive these [systems - ed.], I can already announce that. I believe that this is the best [security - ed.] guarantee."

Background: Earlier, Bloomberg reported that Turkey and Russia have reached a preliminary agreement regarding the export of Ukrainian grain via a naval corridor from the Odesa Port. Ukraine has not offered comments on this report and is sceptical about such announcements.

Previously, President Erdoğan of Turkey offered Ukraine military aid in order to clear the Black Sea waters near the shores of Odesa from mines and to accompany cargo ships bearing grain. Ukraine has not yet approved this plan due to the risk that the lifting of coastal defences could leave the crucially important port in Odesa open to Russian attacks.

Turkey hopes that the approval of the proposal by the UN might alleviate some of Ukraine’s security concerns. It is expected that on Wednesday, 8 June, the Turkish and Russian delegations will discuss the plan during the visit of Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, to Ankara (Turkey).

Dmytro Kuleba, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, called on Ukraine’s Western partners to not put blind faith in Russia President Vladimir Putin’s assurances that Russia will not use the grain export corridor from the Odesa port to attack the city.