Ankara, Moscow agree on lifting barriers on Russian grain, exports: Turkish foreign minister

By Diyar Guldogan

ANKARA (AA) - Ankara and Moscow agreed to lift obstacles to Russian fertilizer and grain exports, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Friday.

"The grain corridor is proof that dialogue and negotiation are working. We attach importance to the continuation of the agreement. This is also important in terms of reducing the world food crisis.

"We agree that the barriers to Russian grain and exports should also be removed. We support efforts to remove these barriers," Cavusoglu said at a news conference with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in the capital Ankara.

Cavusoglu said it is important to ensure shipment of Russian ammonia and fertilizers, as well.

He added that more than 27 million tons of grain have been carried by 866 ships via the Black Sea grain corridor which Türkiye helped broker last year in a bid to avert a potential food crisis amid the Russia-Ukraine war.

On July 22, Türkiye, the UN, Russia, and Ukraine signed an agreement in Istanbul to resume grain exports from three Ukrainian Black Sea ports, which had been paused in February due to Russia’s war on Ukraine.

"The war, which has been going on for more than a year, continues to harm the whole world. We once again emphasized our expectation that the war will end on the basis of international law and through negotiations. We are trying to solve the problem by negotiating with both parties," Cavusoglu stressed.

Türkiye, internationally praised for its mediator role between Ukraine and Russia, has repeatedly urged Kyiv and Moscow to end the war, which has stretched to over a year, through negotiations.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​