Britain’s top diplomat on Tuesday said she would pay a visit to Turkey to hold talks on Ukrainian grain that has been trapped in silos at ports in the Black Sea.
Ukraine is one of the top wheat suppliers globally, but its shipments have stalled, and more than 20 million tons of grain have been stuck since Russia invaded the country in February and subsequently blocked its ports.
Shortly after U.K. Foreign Minister Liz Truss’ announcement, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and British Prime Minister Johnson held a phone call to discuss the Russia-Ukraine war and the blockage of Ukrainian grain, which is threatening a global food crisis.
Russia denies responsibility for the crisis, blaming it on Western sanctions imposed on Moscow that have led to a jump in global food prices and warnings by the U.N. of hunger in poorer countries that rely heavily on imported grain.
Truss told Parliament she would be traveling to Turkey on Wednesday to discuss options to help get grain out of Odessa, saying that there was only a matter of weeks to find a solution.
Turkey is involved in efforts for the establishment of the U.N.-led mechanism that would free Ukraine’s Black Sea ports and allow the grain to be shipped out. Turkey would facilitate and protect the transport of the grain in the Black Sea, officials have said.
Erdoğan and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday discussed initiatives aimed at resolving the ongoing crises caused by war.
Erdoğan said Turkey maintains joint efforts to ensure the export of Ukrainian grains via the Black Sea, which would be “effective in terms of averting a global food crisis.”
The Turkish president told U.K.’s Johnson on Tuesday a solution must be found for the export of grain from Ukraine, a statement by the Turkish Communications Directorate said.
Turkey, which has the second-biggest army in NATO and a powerful navy, has good relations with both Kyiv and Moscow and has said it is ready to take up a role within an “observation mechanism” based in Istanbul if there is a deal.
The British government is determined to impose further sanctions on Russia and will continue to do so until Moscow fully withdraws from Ukraine, Truss said.
“We are determined to provide more weapons, impose more sanctions and back Ukraine in pushing Russia out of their territory,” she noted.
Britain, the United States and the European Union have coordinated in imposing massive sanctions on Moscow over its military campaign in Ukraine.
“We will continue to impose sanctions, we will continue to stop importing goods from Russia until we see Russia fully withdraw from Ukraine,” Truss said.
Britain has targeted Russian business people, politicians, religious leaders and businesses as part of its wide-ranging sanctions on Moscow.
