British Foreign Secretary: Ukraine’s grain crisis must be resolved next month

The crisis over cereals in Ukraine must be resolved next month, British Foreign Secretary Liz Tras said during a visit to Ankara today, offering British know-how to resolve the situation.

“We are very clear that this grain crisis is urgent, that it needs to be resolved within the next month unless we see catastrophic consequences,” Tras told a news conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoλουlu.

“It is very clear that Ukrainian ports need to be protected, that there needs to be a safe passage for commercial vessels. The United Kingdom is offering our know-how on all these fronts to ensure that we have measures so that grain can be transported security but this will require international effort “.

For his part, Tsavousoglu said Turkey was investigating allegations that Ukrainian grain had been stolen from Russia and that it would not allow such grain to be transported to Turkey.

Kiev’s ambassador to Ankara said in early June that Turkish buyers were among those receiving grain stolen by Russia from Ukraine, adding that he had asked Turkey for help in identifying and arresting those responsible for the alleged shipments. . Russia has denied allegations that it stole grain from Ukraine.

“We take every allegation seriously and investigate them seriously. We specifically inform the Ukrainian side about the result each time,” Tsavousoglou told a joint news conference with Tra.

Tsavousoglu added that Turkey opposes Russia or any other country taking Ukrainian grain or other products and selling them illegally in international markets. “We, as Turkey, will not allow these products to come to us,” he said.

SOURCE: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ