FM Sergey Lavrov says Russia is ready to ensure safety of ships leaving Ukrainian ports

Amid the ongoing ravaging war in Eastern Europe, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, on Wednesday, met with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu and discussed key issues pertaining to the situation in Ukraine. Addressing a joint press conference in Ankara, Lavrov said that Russia is ready to ensure the safety of ships leaving Ukrainian ports. He also assured Cavusoglu that Moscow will not take advantage of Ukrainian ports for military purposes. \

The Russian minister also went on to say that problem lies with Ukraine, as it has refused to clear its own territorial waters. 

"But if now, as our Turkish friends tell us, the Ukrainian side is ready to ensure the passage, then let's hope that the problem will be solved. If the Kyiv authorities have matured, we will only be happy to cooperate," Lavrov asserted, the TASS news agency reported. Meanwhile, Lavrov also emphasised that the issue with Ukrainian grain, which the West and Kyiv are attempting to categorise as a universal disaster, has absolutely no relation to the global food crisis. "The share of this grain in question is less than 1% of global wheat production. and other cereals," he claimed. 

Implementation of UN plan should result in lifting sanctions against Russia: Lavrov

The Russian Foreign Minister's remarks came after his Turkish counterpart Cavusoglu said that a United Nations plan to resume Ukrainian grain exports over a sea corridor was "realistic," but that more negotiations with Moscow and Kyiv are needed to secure the safety of ships. Reacting to it, Lavrov stated that the implementation of the UN plan should result in the easing of international sanctions, which Turkey termed as “quite legitimate". Notably, Ankara believes that establishing a framework for the secure transfer of grain from Ukrainian ports, involving Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, and the United Nations, is feasible.

Putin-Zelenskyy meeting only possible if negotiation process begins: Lavrov

Further, on the possibility of Russian leader Vladimir Putin meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Lavrov said that it would only be possible after the resumption of the negotiation process as a whole. "First, it is necessary that the negotiating teams resume work," he said. The Russian Foreign Minister also termed the Ukrainian president's approach to negotiations as frivolous. "Zelenskyy wants a meeting for the sake of a meeting. The resumption of the dialogue depends on the position of Kyiv, which is yet to respond to the Russian version of the agreement presented in mid-April. The ball is on the Ukrainian side for almost two months now," Lavrov noted, as per TASS. 

Image: Twitter/@mfa_russia