ANKARA, July 8. /TASS/: Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Friday said he had discussed grain exports from Ukrainian ports with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
"We held talks with Sergey Lavrov, discussed steps that can be taken as part of the mechanism that was proposed by the UN. We are in constant contact with the UN secretary general on this issue. Yesterday I also had phone talks with the Ukrainian foreign minister," the Turkish minister said following a G20 foreign ministers meeting in Indonesia, according to a broadcast of his statements on the Turkish Foreign Ministry’s Twitter page.
The issue of creating a grain corridor was discussed by Russian and Turkish Foreign Ministers Sergey Lavrov and Mevlut Cavusoglu at talks in Ankara on June 8. Russian President Vladimir Putin previously said that Moscow would guarantee an unfettered passage of ships carrying Ukrainian grain if Kiev cleared its ports of mines. He also said Russia could help with the export of goods through Russian-controlled ports such as Berdyansk and Mariupol.
On June 21, negotiations were held in Moscow between the military delegations of Turkey and Russia to discuss creating a safe corridor for the export of Ukrainian grain. The Turkish Foreign Ministry and Defense Ministry called them positive and constructive, noting that it was decided to continue the consultations.
Erdogan said after a NATO summit in Madrid that Ankara was ready to re-export agricultural products, which would be transported across the Black Sea. According to him, there are about 20 Turkish merchant ships in Ukrainian ports, which are ready to transport cargoes.
