Zelensky demands for resumption of talks 'unserious' - Lavrov

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Russia is ready for UN-mediated negotiations with Ukraine in Turkey, but it believes that the meeting will be more symbolic than a solution to the grain issue, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told a press conference on Wednesday following talks with his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu.

"We are ready for such meetings. We appreciate the UN's interest in getting involved in some way, marking its presence, but, frankly, it would be nothing but symbolic," Lavrov said.

The top Russian diplomat also stressed that all that is needed to solve the grain issue is for the Ukrainian side "to let ships leave their ports by either demining or identifying safe corridors[...] Nothing else is required."

Several countries and international organizations have been calling for the unblocking of the Ukrainian seaports since the start of the war, with the aim of curtailing the rising food process and delivering crops to regions facing acute food crises as soon as possible.

Russia praises Turkey efforts

Lavrov underlined that Moscow "greatly" appreciates Ankara's efforts to break the deadlock on the export of Ukrainian grain and allow ships to leave the country's ports.

The minister revealed that Russia and Turkey's armies were discussing initiatives to demine Ukrainian ports to facilitate the export of Ukrainian grain.

Ankara said the Ukrainian side was ready to ensure passage through minefields or mine clearance, Lavrov added, hoping that the problem would be solved.

Russia guarantees that it would not exploit Ukraine's demining of its ports to serve its military interests if Kiev were to do so, and it is ready to formalize these guarantees.

Lavrov recalled how President Vladimir Putin had already said Moscow guarantees the safety of these kinds of routes when and if Ukraine starts demining them and allows the withdrawal of ships from its ports.

"We will not take advantage of this situation in the interests of the ongoing special military operation," Lavrov told reporters, adding that Russia was "ready to formalize them [these guarantees] in one way or another."

Lavrov had previously said that his country's navy would ensure the free passage of vessels carrying Ukrainian grain, which are now blocked in the Black Sea ports, once Kiev agrees to remove its mines from the coastal waters.

Lavrov slams Zelensky demands for resumption of talks

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had demanded that Russia withdraws its troops to the line as they were before the start of the war on February 24 for Kiev to resume talks with Moscow, which was dismissed by Lavrov as an approach that lacks seriousness.

"This is absolutely not a serious approach. Moreover, it completely contradicts the initiatives that the Ukrainian delegation itself put forward on March 29 here [in Turkey]," he explained.

Turkey sees grounds for resumption of talks

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu had said that his country saw grounds for the resumption of talks between Russia and Ukraine, explaining that "there were positive signals about the possibility of a negotiation process."

Turkey considers Russia's demand to supply its own grain to the global market along with Ukrainian delivered to be legal, Cavusoglu said.

"Sunflower, sunflower oil, grain, so that these agricultural crops can be delivered to the world market, I want to note that we consider Russia's requirement in this regard that both Russian grain and Russian sunflower oil must be delivered to the world market as a legal and reasonable requirement," he told reporters.

Turkey's top diplomat also called the UN plan to break the deadlock on Ukrainian grain exports "unacceptable" and stressed that his country was ready to take part in resolving the issue.

Millions of tons of grain remain trapped in Ukraine, stored in silos and at the port of Odessa, causing a dramatic increase in global food prices that is expected to worsen as the war continues.

Ukraine is considered the world's fourth-largest exporter of corn and fifth-largest exporter of wheat, and the UN's program to combat food insecurity purchases roughly half of its wheat from Ukraine each year. Russia, alongside Ukraine, accounts for almost a third of the global wheat and barley production and half of the world's sunflower oil production.