Ukrainian wheat may soon be headed to world markets once again, under a proposal that would involve Turkish ships demining the waters around Odessa and sharing escort duties with the Russian Navy, multiple outlets reported on Monday. The “grain corridor” could help with food shortages in a number of countries in Africa and the Middle East, including Turkey itself.
According to Bloomberg, quoting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Kiev is negotiating with the UN on how to export the grain, and is skeptical of a “tentative” deal between Russia and Turkey.
UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths arrived in Moscow on June 3, for talks about restoring the shipments of grain from the Black Sea ports, according to Reuters.
The Russian outlet Izvestiya, however, quoted a “high-ranking informed source” to offer some details of the proposed scheme. It would see the Turkish navy clearing a corridor through Ukrainian sea mines from the Black Sea port of Odessa and escort the cargo ships to international waters. At this point, Russian Navy vessels would take over and escort the freighters to the Bosporus.