Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is scheduled to host the UN chief and the Turkish leader on Thursday for talks on the recent deal to resume grain exports from Ukraine, the volatile situation at a Russian-occupied nuclear power plant and efforts to help end the nearly six-month war. On Wednesday, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres arrived in Lviv, near Ukraine’s border with Poland, where he will meet with Zelensky and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Deputy UN spokesman Farhan Haq said Guterres would discuss, among other matters, “his overall effort to do what he can to basically turn the temperature down as much as possible with the various authorities.” Last month, Turkey and the United Nations helped broker a deal that cleared the way for Ukraine to export 22 million tons of corn and other grains that have been stuck in its Black Sea ports since Russia’s February 24 invasion.
A separate memorandum between Russia and the United Nations aimed to remove barriers to the supply of Russian food and fertilizers to world markets. The war and blocked exports have greatly worsened the global food crisis, as Ukraine and Russia are the main suppliers. Grain prices peaked after the Russian invasion, and while some have since returned to pre-war levels, they remain significantly higher than before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Developing countries have been hit particularly hard by supply shortages and high prices. Although the ships are now leaving Russia and Ukraine, the food crisis is not over. UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters this week that Guterres’ trip to Ukraine would allow him to see first-hand the results of an initiative so critically important to hundreds of millions of people. Dujarric added that he expected the need for a political solution to the war to be raised at Thursday’s talks.
He said the three leaders would also discuss the situation at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine, Europe’s largest, which Moscow and Kyiv accuse each other of shelling. In his video speech on Wednesday evening, Zelenskiy reaffirmed his demand that the Russian military leave the plant and emphasized that only absolute transparency and control of the situation in and around the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant for the Ukrainian state, for the international community and for the IAEA can guarantee a gradual return to normal nuclear safety. The International Atomic Energy Agency is an agency of the United Nations.
Russia rejected the request
Erdogan’s office has confirmed that he will discuss the grain deal as well as ways to end the war through diplomatic channels during the talks.Earlier this month, the Turkish leader met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the same issues. In March, Turkey hosted a round of talks between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators discussing a possible agreement to end hostilities. Talks broke down after the meeting in Istanbul, with both sides blaming each other.
Erdogan has engaged in a delicate balance and maintains good relations with both Russia and Ukraine. Turkey provided Ukraine with drones that played a significant role in repelling Russian advances early in the conflict, but has refrained from joining Western sanctions against Russia over the war. Facing a major economic crisis with official inflation close to 80 percent, Turkey is increasingly reliant on Russia for trade and tourism. Russian gas covers 45 percent of Turkey’s energy needs, and the Russian Atomic Energy Agency is building Turkey’s first nuclear power plant. During a meeting in Sochi this month, Putin and Erdogan agreed to boost energy, financial and other ties between their countries, raising concerns in the West that Ankara could help Moscow circumvent US and European Union sanctions.
