Russia's condition is the demining of Ukrainian ports. Ukraine's conditions – NATO security guarantees and anti-ship weapons
< Moscow's proposal to unblock Ukrainian ports and resume grain exports is unacceptable to Ukraine. Kyiv demands security guarantees from NATO and anti-ship weapons, writes DW.
During talks between the Russian and Turkish foreign ministers in Ankara on Wednesday, June 8, one of the topics was the unblocking of Ukrainian ports to resume grain exports across the Black Sea. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has stated that Moscow is ready to allow grain sea convoys from Ukraine subject to the demining of Ukrainian ports. The talks were held without the participation of representatives of Ukraine .
Read also: How long will it take for the demining of Ukrainian ports, the UN said
“When and if Ukraine goes to demining and allows the withdrawal of ships from their ports, we will not use this situation in favor of a special operation. This is a guarantee of the President of Russia, and we are ready to issue it in one way or another,” Lavrov said. In contrast, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu called “reasonable and acceptable” the UN plan to create a four-way mechanism to unblock grain exports involving the UN, Ukraine, Russia and Turkey.
“We need the Russian and Ukrainian sides to agree. We can and are ready to hold this meeting in Istanbul. If demining is not possible, corridors should be arranged for the passage of ships,” Cavusoglu added. He also said that he considered “justified” Russia's demands to lift Western sanctions in exchange for grain access to the world market. Of Ukraine.
Putin says he will not use trade routes to attack Odessa. This is the same Putin who told German Chancellor Scholz and French President Macron that he would not attack Ukraine a few days before the full-scale invasion of our country. We cannot believe it. Putin, his words are empty, “said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.”
“Military equipment is needed to protect the coastline, and a Navy mission is needed to patrol export routes in the Black Sea. Russia cannot be allowed to use grain corridors to attack southern Ukraine, “the diplomat wrote on his Twitter page.
As Serhiy Bratchuk, a representative of the Odessa Regional Military Administration, said on June 8, Ukraine is ready to demine certain sea routes to export grain, not the entire water area of the port of Odessa. At the same time, according to him, the country should receive security guarantees primarily from NATO, as well as Western weapons, in particular, anti-ship missiles.
On the eve of the meeting in Ankara, in which Ukrainian representatives did not participate, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry stressed that Kyiv is considering the possibility of creating a humanitarian corridor for the export of Ukrainian agricultural products with its partners and the UN.
At the same time, we should note that there are currently no agreements on this issue between Ukraine, Turkey and Russia. We emphasize that decisions must be made with the participation of all parties involved, “the ministry said.
The formula “nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine” will continue to work clearly, so Lavrov's statements in Ankara do not matter, said in an interview with DW former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and head of the Kiev “Center for Russian Studies” Volodymyr Ohryzko.
< "This is just a way for Moscow to blame Ukraine for its sins and shift the blame for blocking grain exports from a healthy sick head," - said the expert. He considers it acceptable for Kyiv to resume grain exports only under the auspices of the UN and provided Ukraine with anti-ship weapons to repel Russian attacks.
Mykhailo Samus, Deputy Director for International Programs at the Kyiv Center for Army Research, Conversion and Disarmament, is surprised by Moscow's demand to demine the Black Sea off the coast of Ukraine.
According to him, theoretically it is quite possible to escort cargo ships with grain from the territorial waters of Ukraine to the Bosphorus exit to the Mediterranean Sea. In the future, they can be protected by ships of other NATO countries. “But grain trucks can be removed from Ukrainian waters along a certain fairway. Ukraine has no need to demine such dangerous landing waters as Ochakiv or Zatoka. These are our territorial waters, and Ukraine has the right to do anything with them,” he explained. . expert.
Due to the blockade of seaports by Russia, Ukraine cannot export 22 to 25 million tons of grain. According to the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, 75 million tons of grain may be blocked in Ukraine by autumn. This threatens famine in a number of countries around the world, as almost half of the supplies under the UN World Food Program are Ukrainian grain. sales to Africa and Asia. Roman Naiter, an expert at the Kyiv School of Economics's Center for Food and Land Use, estimates that the occupiers have already exported more than half a million tons of grain, causing Ukraine about $ 200 million in direct damage.
