No breakthrough after Russia’s Lavrov in Türkiye for talks on Ukraine grain exports
- Türkiye coordinating with Russia and Ukraine failed to make significant progress on the crisis
- Russia’s invasion has cut off shipments of grain from Ukraine, threatening food shortages around the world
Talks between Russia and Türkiye* brought no signs of progress on a deal to unblock shipments of Ukrainian grain that have contributed to warnings of a global food-supply crisis.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov took the trip to Türkiye to meet with his counterpart Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu in Ankara on Wednesday, but failed to yield a breakthrough. There was no representative from Ukraine at the meeting.
Russia’s invasion in late February disrupted deliveries to markets, pushing global food prices higher and threatening mass starvation in some countries heavily reliant on Ukrainian grain.
Ukraine was among the world’s largest exporters of wheat before the war erupted.
Kiev and Moscow blame each other for laying sea mines off the Black Sea coast, which have now become a security concern in grain talks.
Russia has already done its part and now it is up to Ukraine to remove the mines, Lavrov told a press conference in Ankara.
