Turkey to host Russia, Ukraine, UN for talks on grain exports

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Military delegations from Turkey, Russia, Ukraine and UN officials will come together in İstanbul tomorrow to discuss shipment of Ukraine's grain stuck due to blockade of Black Sea ports, Minister of National Defense Hulusi Akar has said.

Akar said a delegation from the ministry had earlier visited Moscow and Kyiv to discuss the issue, which has led to a global food crisis now.

Ukraine has accused Russia of stealing grain from the regions it occupied.

Yesterday (July 11), President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke over the phone with his counterparts in Moscow and Kyiv about the issue. He urged Russia's President Vladimir Putin to take action regarding the UN's plan to establish safe corridors in the Black Sea for grain exports, according to a statement from the Presidency Communications Directorate.

After his conversation with Erdoğan, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy tweeted, "Discussed the importance of unblocking Ukraine's ports and resuming grain exports. We must also prevent Russia from taking our grain."

Last week, Ukraine's Foreign Ministry summoned Turkey's ambassador about the reports that Turkey allowed the passage of a Russia-flagged ship loaded with grain stolen from Ukraine.

The ship reportedly left the Russia-occupied city of Berdyansk for Turkey's inland Sea of Marmara on June 29. Spending three days anchored off the coast of Sakarya, the ship set off and headed to Black Sea, turning down its GPS transmitter.

Russia, which started the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, denies responsibility for the food crisis and blames Western sanctions for shortage and a subsequent rise in global food prices.

CLICK - 'Turkey among countries where grain Russia stole from Ukraine is sold'

(VK)