Ankara: Turkey is trying to open a peace dialogue between Russia and Ukraine although the West, particularly the US, provokes Moscow, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.
“The West, especially the US, is attacking Russia almost without limits. Against all this, of course, Russia is putting up resistance,” the semi-official Anadolu Agency quoted Erdogan as saying on Saturday.
Ankara has been working on the establishment of “a peace corridor” in the same way that it had made it possible for the grain corridor from Ukraine to resume, the President told reporters onboard a flight from Uzbekistan to Turkey.
“We think the best way to achieve peace is through a path of dialogue. But for now, the most important thing for us is to operate the grain corridor seriously,” Erdogan said.
The Turkish President added it would be wrong to put a time limit on the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which allows the export of Ukrainian grain and other agricultural products from Black Sea ports, Xinhua news agency reported.
“We told Russia and Ukraine that the longer they keep this deal, the more accurate it will be,” he said.
Brokered by the UN and Turkey, the Black Sea Grain initiative was reached in late July to establish a maritime humanitarian corridor in the Black Sea for grain and agricultural products exports amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
–IANS