Speaking alongside Lavrov in Ankara, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu described a United Nations plan to launch a sea corridor for Ukrainian grain exports as “reasonable”, but added that Russia and Ukraine would have to accept any agreement. “Various ideas have been put out for the export of Ukrainian grains to the market and most recently is the UN plan [including] a mechanism that can be created between the UN, Ukraine, Russia and Turkey,” Çavuşoğlu said. The UN subsequently appealed to Russia and Ukraine, as well as Nato member Turkey – which has authority over maritime traffic entering and leaving the Black Sea through the Bosphorus strait – to agree a corridor. According to the UN, Russia and Ukraine supply about 40% of the wheat consumed in Africa, where prices have already risen by about 23%. An agreement between Russia and Ukraine is a vital starting point for grain exports to resume, but several other things would need to fall into place.

Source: The Guardian June 08, 2022 13:37 UTC