The Turkish Defense Ministry confirmed Wednesday that a four-way meeting on export of Ukrainian grain will take place in the upcoming weeks on the Turkish territory. The Ministry published its press release after the talks between military delegations of Russia and Turkey that took place in Moscow Tuesday, TASS reports.
"The issue of evacuation of trade ships with grain from Ukrainian ports was discussed during the meeting; an understanding was achieved on meetings between Turkey, Russia, Ukraine and the UN, aimed at resolution of this problem. A four-way meeting within this framework is expected to take place in Turkey in the upcoming weeks," the press release says.
The Turkish Ministry noted that the Moscow talks within the framework of the "hotline diplomacy" went in a positive and constructive atmosphere. In particular, the meeting focused on evacuation of trade ships with grain from Ukrainian ports and safe return of Turkish Air Force planes from the Kiev airport of Borispol.
"After the talks, permission was granted for exit of the Azov Concord cargo ship from the port of Mariupol, making it the first foreign ship to leave Ukrainian ports," the Ministry said.
Last week, Turkish National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar announced that a hotline has been established between Defense Ministries of Turkey, Russia and Ukraine for coordination of export of Ukrainian grain, and that army generals of the three countries will be responsible for this process. He also noted that he expects progress on naval export of Ukrainian grain in the upcoming days.
On June 21, Russian Defense Ministry announced a meeting between representatives of Russia and Turkey in Moscow.
