3 yıl önce

Türkiye, Russia hold military-level talks on grain export from Ukraine

As the first concrete result of the meeting, a Turkish cargo ship left Ukraine's Russian-occupied port of Mariupol.

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The meeting between Turkish generals and their Russian counterparts in Moscow reached 'an understanding for future negotiations'.

Turkish and Russian military officials have met in Moscow to discuss the safe exit of Turkish merchant ships and grain export from Ukrainian ports.

Following the "constructive" talks, a Turkish cargo ship left Ukraine's Russian-occupied port of Mariupol on Wednesday, the Turkish defence ministry said.

"The meeting in Moscow gave its first concrete result," the ministry said in a statement.

"Just a few hours after the end of the long meeting, the Turkish dry cargo ship, which had been waiting for days, left the Ukrainian port."

According to a statement from the Russian Defence Ministry, the sides also discussed approaches to ensure safe navigation in the Black Sea, and reached an agreement to continue consultations.

The ministry added that the delegations of Russia and Türkiye stressed the importance of cooperation in a bilateral format, which allowed for the exit from the Port of Mariupol, including the Turkish cargo ship Azov Concord.

Turkish cargo ship has left the Ukrainian port of Mariupol loaded with grain, vessel is the first to leave a Ukrainine port since the Russians blockaded ports pic.twitter.com/ueCoMMTbgc
— TRT World Now (@TRTWorldNow) June 22, 2022

Efforts to resume grain deliveries

The meeting between Turkish generals and their Russian counterparts in Moscow reached "an understanding for future negotiations between Türkiye, Russia, Ukraine and the UN", the statement added.

"In this context, it was decided that a four-way meeting should be held in Türkiye in the coming weeks, after a meeting with the Ukrainian side and the UN," said the defence ministry.

Türkiye has been spearheading efforts to resume grain deliveries across the Black Sea that have been stalled by minefields and a Russian military blockade of Ukrainian ports.

Millions of tonnes of wheat and other grains are currently stuck in Ukrainian and Russian-occupied ports.

The crisis has seen food prices soar and contributed to the global spike in inflation.

The United Nations warns that it is currently affecting poorer African countries the most because of their heavy dependence on Russian and Ukrainian wheat.