Turkey has sent proposal regarding grain deal to Ukraine and Russia and is awaiting response, - Fidan
Turkey announced that it had sent a proposal to Ukraine and Russia regarding the de-escalation of the situation in the Black Sea and the grain deal.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said this in an interview with NTV, according to Censor.NET.
Details
"At the moment, it seems somewhat difficult to achieve a lasting result. Will we continue the war—the destructive nature of which all sides are well aware of and which is now gradually dying down—or will we find a reasonable compromise and say, ‘Let’s stop destroying each other’? We have sent a proposal to both sides and are awaiting a response. We see that if the grain harvested from the fields does not reach global markets, many countries will face food security issues," Fidan said.
The minister noted that an agreement had been reached several years ago, which was subsequently violated; nevertheless, a de facto system remained in place—the parties did not interfere.
"However, they are now actively interfering in each other's affairs. In particular, they are attacking ports and all types of maritime activities… To be honest, we are trying to bring this matter to a logical conclusion. In this case, it is difficult to reconcile the parties' positions based on the lessons learned during the implementation of the previous agreement," Fidan noted.
What led up to it
- It was previously reported that Turkey called on Ukraine and Russia to ensure the safety of civilian shipping in the Black Sea following a drone attack near the Russian port of Novorossiysk, which damaged a Turkish cargo ship and left three crew members seriously injured.
- It was also reported that Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan called on Russia and Ukraine to impose a moratorium on attacks on merchant ships in the Black Sea.
- On August 29, it was reported that Ukraine’s ambassador to Turkey, Nariman Dzhelal, had been summoned to the Turkish Foreign Ministry following attacks off the Russian Black Sea coast on two vessels operated by Turkish companies.
