Kiev does not trust the “good will” of Moscow and excludes the clearing of the coasts, because, in his opinion, “in this case they will want to attack
Moscow is likely to get Turkey to export Russian grain and fertilizers through the Black Sea, but the prospect of Ukrainian grain from the port of Odessa joining that food flow is highly unlikely. Kiev fears that demining its coast to ensure safe navigation of cargo ships would make it easier for Russia to attack by sea, despite promises made on Wednesday by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov that she would not take advantage of such a circumstance.
Lavrov met this Wednesday in Ankara with his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, to whom he suggested four routes to export grain: via Berdyansk and Mariupol, ports currently under Russian occupation, Odessa, the only one controlled by Russia in Ukrainian, through the Danube River to Romania and by rail to Hungary, Poland and Romania. Ukraine is already using the alternatives to Europe by river and rail. The one that cannot be used is the maritime one due to the presence of Russian warships in the Black Sea.
But the negotiations are not progressing. Firstly, because no Ukrainian representative took part in the meeting this Wednesday, and secondly, because Kiev does not trust Moscow’s “goodwill”. Odessa regional administration spokesman Sergei Brachuk ruled out demining the coasts on Wednesday because, in his opinion, “in that case, they will want to attack. Russia dreams of sending parachute troops.” “The Russian Black Sea fleet will pretend to retreat to the annexed Crimea. But as soon as we clear access to the port of Odessa, they will appear here,” Brachuk emphasized through his Telegram channel.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba stated on Monday that “President Putin says he will not use trade routes to attack Odessa (…), but he also assured that he had no intention of invading our country. We cannot trust Putin, his words are worthless.” In any case, Lavrov promised this Wednesday that his country “will guarantee the security of the access of the ships after the unblocking of the ports and will not use them in the interest of the special military operation”, a term the Russian authorities use to refer to the invasion of Ukraine. But Brachuk on Wednesday made a condition of mine clearance that Ukraine receive anti-ship missiles from the West and that the convoys be escorted by Turkey and other NATO countries, not by Russia Kiev also rejects Moscow’s demand that ships carrying grains be inspected by Russian ships to prevent carrying weapons on board.
In his appearance before the press in the company of Cavusoglu, Lavrov stated that “if, as our Turkish friends say, the Ukrainian side is ready to ensure safe passage of ships away from the mines, the matter can be resolved.” of grain exports. But, other than promises that no one believes in Kiev, the head of Russian Diplomacy did not discuss the implementation of any mechanism that could eliminate Ukraine’s reluctance.
Kuleba responded on Wednesday to Putin’s words, uttered in a televised interview this weekend, that the cause of the food crisis is the sanctions adopted by the West against Russia, assuring that “the real cause of this crisis is Russia’s invasion, not sanctions”. , a view shared in Washington.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, is executing his own plan to unclog the grains with the help of the West. The Ukrainian president has already spoken with London and this Wednesday he did so with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. According to the German government spokesman, Steffen Hebestreit, both leaders over the phone analyzed possible variants to unblock grain exports, eliminating the threat of famine in Africa and halting the price hike.
Source: La Verdad
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