Turkey will send a military delegation to Russia this week to discuss the details of a possible corridor in the Black Sea for Ukrainian grain exports, and host a four-way summit with the participation of the UN, Ukraine and Russia, broadcaster Haberturk reported on Tuesday.
Haberturk, citing sources in the Turkish presidency, said a four-way meeting between Turkey, Ukraine, Russia, and the UN would be held in Istanbul within 10 days, and that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres would join the meeting.
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The report said the discussions will include transporting Russian food products through the corridor which should be created with the cooperation of Ukraine.
“It is also on the agenda to open 3 corridors through 4 ports in Odessa and to sell the food products to be produced from there at 25 percent cheaper rate to Turkey,” Haberturk reported.
“It is expected that 30-35 million tons of food will be extracted from the corridor to be created in 8 months.”
Since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, Moscow was slapped with crippling sanctions by US and its European allies. The sanctions have disrupted supplies of fertilizer, grains and other commodities from both Russia and Ukraine, which together produce 30 percent of global wheat supply.
The disruption in supply has caused what international officials have described as a food crisis.
Erdogan has offered to mediate between Russia and Ukraine and his government has been making efforts towards alleviating the food crisis through facilitating diplomatic negotiations between both sides.
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