Turkey’s difficult position on grain exports – Details
The Ukrainian ambassador in Ankara accused Russia on Friday, June 3 of “stealing” Ukrainian grain and exporting it from Crimea to other countries, including Turkey. According to the ambassador, Kiev “asked for Turkey’s help to solve the problem”. An ally of Ukraine, to which it supplies combat drones, Turkey nevertheless maintains a neutral position towards Russia, on which it depends for its energy and wheat supplies. Ankara hopes to contribute to a negotiated solution for the resumption of grain exports from Ukrainian ports, in order to preserve its image as a mediator.
Turkey’s position is beginning to become difficult with regard to the Western allies who have shown understanding in the face of its refusal to impose sanctions on Russia. Of course, attempts at mediation continue behind the scenes, and Ankara remains the preferred intermediary between Kiev and Moscow. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also spoke by telephone earlier this week with Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky. However, since a meeting in Istanbul at the end of March, Turkey has failed to bring Russians and Ukrainians together.
President Erdogan therefore needs a breakthrough on the diplomatic front, especially as his blocking of the accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO is gaining more and more criticism within the Alliance, some even accusing him of playing into Russia’s hands.
Turkey thus hopes to contribute rapidly to a resumption of Ukrainian grain exports, interrupted by the blockade of Ukrainian ports by the Russian Navy and mines scattered in the Black Sea. It offered assistance in securing maritime corridors, which would relieve pressure on agricultural markets, whose prices have soared since the war began. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is expected in Ankara on Wednesday to discuss the issue.
