JAKARTA - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan plans to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, to discuss safe grain exports from Ukraine, according to a video of his meeting with Turkish youth released by the presidential office.
The Black Sea blockade prevented Ukraine from exporting its grain, leaving millions of people in various countries on the brink of starvation with Russia capturing most of Ukraine's coast.
"There is a war going on between Ukraine and Russia, and we know that most of the agricultural products come from these countries," said President Erdogan, launching TASS June 13.
"At this stage, we have no problem with this, we have 5 million tonnes of wheat in our warehouses, but we want to increase this volume," he explained.
"We will take part in the work (creating a safe corridor for the delivery of agricultural products) not only for ourselves, but also for third countries," he continued.
"Negotiations are ongoing. In the coming week we will discuss with Zelensky and Putin what steps can be taken," said President Erdogan.
Separately, President Putin said Moscow was ready to guarantee unhindered grain exports if Ukraine cleared ports of its own mines. President Putin also said he could regulate exports through the Russian-controlled ports of Berdyansk and Mariupol.
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned millions of people were at risk of starvation, as Russia's blockade of the Black Sea has put the world on the verge of a food crisis. Russia managed to seize most of Ukraine's coast, blocking agricultural exports and issuing a policy of raising wheat prices.
President Zelensky said Ukraine was now unable to export large quantities of wheat, corn, vegetable oil and other products, which have played a "stabilizing role in global markets".
"Millions of people may starve if Russia's blockade of the Black Sea continues," he said in a video statement to the TIME100 Gala 2022 in New York released by Ukrainian authorities on Thursday.
It is known, Ukraine and the West accuse Moscow of arming food supplies. Russia says Ukrainian mines are laid at sea and international sanctions on Moscow are to blame.
Kyiv used to export most of its goods through ports, but since the Russian invasion on February 24 it has been forced to transport grain by rail across Ukraine's western border or via the small Danube port.
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