Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson: No new date or venue has been set for the meeting between Araghchi and Witkoff, and no negotiations will take place until the outcome is guaranteed
Palestinian platforms: Settlers storm Al-Aqsa Mosque complex under the protection of the occupation police
Palestinian platforms: The IOF detonated a booby-trapped robot east of the al-Zaytoun neighborhood, south of Gaza City
Syrian Defense: We call on all parties in Sweida to cooperate with security forces and exercise restraint
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: The Lebanese Army is continuing its investigations and will later announce any information that does not affect the confidentiality of the investigation
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: It has not yet been determined whether the detainees belong to ISIS or another organization
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Around 10 people of different nationalities, including Lebanese nationals, were detained
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: The Lebanese army arrested a number of people in the Matn area of Mount Lebanon with possession it has not disclosed
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: We have strong indications that there are martyrs, injuries, and trapped people in the Salah al-Din area
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: Citizens should avoid Salah al-Din Street because anyone who approaches it is at risk of being directly targeted

Zelensky demands for resumption of talks 'unserious' - Lavrov

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 8 Jun 2022 18:07
4 Min Read

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov meets with his Turkish counterpart and they discuss various issues related to Ukraine, mainly talks and the grain export problem.

  • x
  • Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu
    Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu

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.

Related News

'Turkey has won': Erdogan hails PKK disarmament

Iraq welcomes PKK’s disarmament as step toward regional stability

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.

  • Turkey
  • Sergey Lavrov
  • Russia
  • grain prices
  • United Nations
  • Volodymyr Zelensky
  • Wheat
  • Ukraine
  • Vladimir Putin
  • Wheat crisis
Russia & NATO

Russia & NATO

As the Draconian Western-led sanctions on Russia exacerbate the economic crisis worldwide, and as Russian troops gain more ground despite the influx of military aid into Ukraine, exposing US direct involvement in bio-labs spread across Eastern Europe and the insurgence of neo-Nazi groups… How will things unfold?

Most Read

Hezbollah SG reveals war details on Al Mayadeen for the first time

Hezbollah SG reveals war details on Al Mayadeen for the first time

  • Politics
  • 8 Jul 2025
Major ambush in Gaza kills 6 Israeli troops, injures dozens

Major ambush in Gaza kills 5 Israeli troops, injures 14

  • Politics
  • 8 Jul 2025
Israeli soldiers are seen in Beit Hanoun ahead of an operation by the al-Qassam Brigades, undated (Al-Qassam Brigades Military Media)

'Israel' on blast as media exposes report discrepancies in Gaza ambush

  • Palestine
  • 8 Jul 2025
Yemen Navy sinks ETERNITY C ship, shares footage of operation

Yemen Navy sinks ETERNITY C ship, shares footage of operation

  • Politics
  • 9 Jul 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
The Freedom Flotilla ship Handala as it departs for Gaza, where it aims to break the maritime blockade at a port in Syracuse, Sicily in southern Italy on July 13, 2025. (AFP)
Palestine

Freedom Flotilla's Handala departs Sicily in bid to break Gaza siege

The container ship CMA CGM Laperouse, left, docks at the Georgia Ports Authority's Port of Savannah, Sept. 29, 2021, in Savannah, Ga (AP)
Politics

US shipbuilding woes deepen as tariffs, outdated policies backfire

Gaza war raises ethical questions for ex-Obama, Biden officials
Politics

Mercenary firm tied to Gaza war crimes hires Obama-Biden PR operatives

'Israel' targets children in Gaza collecting water
Palestine

'Israel' strikes Gaza kids fetching water, blames it on 'malfunction'

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS