The United States welcomes Turkey’s involvement in brokering an agreement to get grain that has been trapped at Ukrainian ports amid the Russian invasion out of the country, a senior official said Thursday.
The U.S. is working with allies and partners to get grain out of Ukraine, with exports blocked by Russia’s invasion, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said.
"Turkey is talking to Russia about this. We certainly welcome Turkey’s involvement in trying to broker some kind of arrangement to allow shipping of grain," he told a news conference, noting there was a blockade in the Black Sea.
Russia and Ukraine account for nearly a third of global wheat supplies, while Russia also heavily exports fertilizer and Ukraine corn and sunflower oil. But Ukrainian grain shipments from its Black Sea ports have stalled since Russia invaded, with some 20 million tons of grain stuck, fueling global food shortages.
The United Nations has appealed to both Russia and Ukraine, as well as maritime neighbor Turkey, to agree to a sea corridor for grains to be exported from the Black Sea. Ankara, which has backed the U.N.-led plan, has held talks with Moscow and the U.N. but says all sides need to meet for a final agreement.
Kirby said it would "certainly" help if Russia lifted the blockade of Ukrainian ports.
While Moscow wants certain Western sanctions lifted to help facilitate grain and fertilizer exports, Kyiv seeks security guarantees for its ports to agree to the U.N.-led plan.
Russian and Turkish military officials met Tuesday in Moscow to discuss the sea corridor, the safe departure of vessels at Ukrainian ports and the return of Turkish planes at Ukraine’s Borispol airport.
Turkey said the talks were lengthy, "positive and constructive." The Russian Defense Ministry said the sides also discussed approaches to ensure safe navigation in the Black Sea.
Ankara is hoping to arrange a four-way meeting in Istanbul in the coming weeks to discuss details of the U.N.-led plan. Ankara has offered to host an "observation mechanism" to be formed to monitor the implementation of the sea corridor plan in Istanbul.