Türkiye ready to help de-mining efforts around Ukraine’s Black Sea ports: Senior official

ANKARA

Türkiye is ready to provide support to Ukraine’s ongoing efforts to de-mine the waters around its Black Sea ports, adding to its help to restart Ukrainian grain exports, the Turkish presidential spokesman said on Friday.

“If needed, de-mining could be provided by a third country. Türkiye is ready to offer our help,” Ibrahim Kalin, a top presidential aide, told Turkish news channel NTV after a deal to resume Ukraine’s Black Sea grain exports was signed in Istanbul.

“As a result of diplomatic negotiations we’ve been carrying out for weeks, this historic success has been achieved today,” he said, calling the deal a “historic achievement of Turkish diplomacy.”

Kalin pointed out the landmark nature of the deal, saying it was the first time since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war on Feb. 24 that the parties agreed on an issue and approved the start of an operation by signing two different agreements.

Türkiye’s signature was also on the deals, Kalin stressed.

“Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan followed the process from the beginning. The agreement will lay a foundation of trust. Meetings held by Erdogan paved the way for the parties to come to a conclusion,” he added.

Underlining that shipments can begin in the coming days, Kalin said three main corridors were determined in the agreement.

“Grain shipments aren’t our only concern, (as) people are dying. Our goal is to stop the war,” he said.

With the mediation of Türkiye and the UN, and Erdogan and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in attendance, Ukraine and Russia signed an agreement in Istanbul on the resumption of Ukraine’s grain shipments from Black Sea ports.

Under the deal, reached on a UN-led plan during talks in Istanbul, a coordination center will be established to carry out joint inspections at the entrances and exits of harbors, and to ensure the safety of the routes.

Internationally praised for its mediator role, Türkiye has coordinated with Moscow and Kyiv to open a corridor from the Ukrainian port city of Odesa to resume global grain shipments which are stuck due to the Russia-Ukraine war, now in its fifth month.

This March, Türkiye hosted a meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers in the Mediterranean city of Antalya, part of its key role in mediating between the warring sides.