Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday to discuss the Ukrainian crisis and the creation of a so-called grain corridor to export grain by sea, the administration of the Turkish leader said.
"President Erdogan had a telephone conversation with Russian President Putin. They discussed the situation in Syria, the situation in Ukraine in light of Russia's military operations, and the creation of safe corridors for grain exports via the Black Sea," the statement said.
According to Erdogan, "it is time for action to implement the plan to create safe corridors for grain exports," the release said.
The Turkish president, according to a statement from his administration, reiterated his support for a "stable and fair" resolution of the Ukrainian crisis peacefully, at the negotiating table. According to him, Turkey, as before, is ready to make efforts to revive the negotiation process between Russia and Ukraine.
About the "grain corridor"
The issue of creating a so-called grain corridor was discussed at talks in Ankara on June 8 by Russian and Turkish foreign ministers Sergey Lavrov and Mevlut Cavusoglu. Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier that Moscow guarantees the unimpeded passage of ships with Ukrainian grain if Kiev clears its ports and can ensure the export of goods through Russian-controlled ports such as Berdyansk and Mariupol.
On June 21, military delegations of Turkey and Russia held talks in Moscow on the issue of creating a safe corridor for the export of Ukrainian grain. The Turkish Foreign Ministry and Defense Ministry described them as positive and constructive, noting that it was decided to continue consultations.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said after the NATO summit in Madrid that Ankara was ready to deal with re-export of agricultural products that would be transported by the Black Sea. According to him, about 20 Turkish merchant ships are in Ukrainian ports and are ready for transportation.
Cross Border Aid to Syria
Erdogan, during his conversation with Putin, drew attention to the importance of extending the mechanism of cross-border humanitarian aid to Syria.
"President Erdogan pointed to the importance of extending the cross-border humanitarian aid mechanism," the administration said in a Twitter post.
The UN Security Council did not adopt a Russian draft resolution on cross-border aid in Syria on July 8. The resolution was not adopted because it did not receive the required number of votes in support (at least nine are required). Russia and China voted in favor of the draft, Great Britain, the USA and France were against it, and other members of the Council - Albania, Brazil, Gabon, Ghana, India, Ireland, Kenya, Mexico, Norway and the UAE - abstained.
Russia then used its veto power in the Council on the Western draft on cross-border assistance. The Russian draft provided for a six-month extension of the mechanism, followed by a possible six-month extension by a separate resolution. The Western draft envisioned a one-year extension of the mechanism, with the possibility for a UN Security Council member to submit a separate draft resolution for consideration after six months that would override the previous document.
The UN Security Council failed to adopt a resolution on cross-border assistance in Syria for the first time since 2014, which expired on July 10.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: official website of the President of the Russian Federation
Based on materials from TASS