TOPLINE
Turkey is engaged in discussions with Russia and Ukraine to establish a corridor to resume Ukrainian grain exports, Reuters reported Thursday morning, a crucial step in ending a global food supply crisis due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
KEY FACTS
Turkey is in talks to open a route for Ukrainian grain exports to leave the country’s Black Sea ports and travel through the Bosphorus strait running through Turkey, an anonymous senior Turkish official told Reuters.
An estimated 20 million tons of grain are stuck in Ukraine, and the country is one of the world’s five largest exporters of wheat, corn and sunflower oil and meal, making it a staple of countries’ food supply globally.
Grain exports from the country are down more than 60% compared to 2021, according to the Ukrainian agricultural ministry, as exports can only travel by land due to port blockades.
A crucial step to re-opening is to clear Ukrainian ports of mines—something both Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of placing.
Turkish vessels may also serve as naval escorts for ships containing the Ukrainian grain, an operation backed Monday by the United Kingdom and Lithuania, but Russia may be more amenable to Turkish escorts given Turkey’s warmer stance toward Russia compared to other NATO members.
KEY BACKGROUND
Andrei Rudenko, Russia’s deputy foreign minister, said Wednesday that Russia was willing to allow for humanitarian passage of Ukrainian grain exports on one lofty condition: the lifting of Western sanctions on Russian exports. Numerous leaders have sharply criticized Russia for its role in accelerating the global food crisis, including David Beasley, director of the United Nations’ World Food Programme, who said the Russian blockade of Ukrainian ports may cause “millions” to die globally. Russia has denied its responsibility for the food shortages and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Thursday the “illegal actions” of the West led to the crisis, according to Reuters’ translation of his comments.
CHIEF CRITIC
British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of “trying to hold the world to ransom” by blocking grain exports during a Thursday press conference, continuing, “He is essentially weaponizing hunger and lack of food amongst the poorest people around the world.”
FURTHER READING
World Outrage Grows Toward Russia—This Time Over Food Crisis Sparked By Invasion (Forbes)
By Derek Saul, Forbes Staff