There may again be grounds for Russia-Ukraine negotiations: Turkish FM

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on Wednesday that he sees a will to return to negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.

Speaking alongside Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said their meeting in Ankara was fruitful, including a will to return to negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv for a possible ceasefire.

"There may again be grounds for Russia-Ukraine negotiations," he added.

Lavrov, for his part, said that the "special military operation" in Ukraine is going according to plan and that they will achieve their goals.

He said that Russia is ready for a meeting with the UN and Ukraine in Istanbul, urging the resumption of Moscow-Kyiv peace talks before a meeting between Putin and Zelensky happens.

"Even when Russia and Türkiye have differences, they respect positions of each other, this is the key to achievements in relations," Lavrov said.

GRAIN EXPORTS

Çavuşoğlu also said that he sees the United Nation's plan to export Ukrainian grain as reasonable, adding that more talks are needed on measures to be taken to ensure the safe passage of ships from Ukraine.

"Demands of sanctions' removal for Russian grain exports is legitimate," Çavuşoğlu said.

"We urge all to jointly pave way for exports products from both Ukraine and Russia," he added.

Lavrov said that Ukraine's grain export has no connection to a possible food crisis.

"Its share is very small, about 1%," he said.

Lavrov added that the main problem in the export of Ukraine's grain is Ukrainian President Zelenskyy's refusal to discuss the clearing of sea mines.

To resolve this issue, Ukraine needs to let ships leave its ports safely, he stressed.

Saying that Moscow values Türkiye's efforts aiming to unblock the situation about grain exports from Ukrainian sea ports, he expressed "readiness" to provide any kind of security for ships leaving Ukraine's ports "hand-in-hand" with Turkish counterparts.

"Russian and Turkish militaries are discussing the issue of clearing mines in Ukraine's seaports to freeway for grain export," Russian foreign minister said.

SYRIA

Russian foreign minister also said that he protests US support to 'terror organization' in Syria, adding that Moscow experienced similar problem in Caucasus in 1990s.

He noted that he exchanged views on the meeting of the Syrian Constitutional Committee with his Turkish counterpart Çavuşoğlu.

Çavuşoğlu, for his part, said that the terrorist groups threatening Syria have also upped the ante against Türkiye, stressing the need to eliminate the threat.