Turkey calls for “sustainable” grain export agreement from Ukraine

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Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has stressed Thursday the importance of the agreement for the export of grain from Ukrainian ports to be “sustainable”, after the first ship left Odessa on Monday.

“It has to be sustainable. The duration of this agreement is four months,” he said, before stressing that the agreement could even be the basis for “a comprehensive ceasefire” prior to the end of the war, Turkish state news agency Anatolia reported.

He has thus said that the grain export agreement could be extended if there are no objections from Russia and Ukraine, before detailing that this would allow Russia to “export its own grain and related products, including fertilizers.”

“Everyone must act responsibly and fulfill their commitments to maintain this flow,” stressed Cavusoglu, who acknowledged that “the situation is fragile, given that the war in Ukraine continues.”

The ‘Razoni’, which left the port of Odessa on Monday with about 27,000 tons of corn, was inspected on Wednesday by the Joint Coordination Center set up in the Turkish city of Istanbul to monitor the transit of these ships at the entrances and exits of ports and ensure the safety of the routes.