With last year’s landmark grain corridor deal continuing, Ankara and Moscow have agreed to work to lift obstacles to Russian fertilizer and grain exports, the Turkish foreign minister said Friday, News.Az reports citing Anadolu Agency. 

"The grain corridor is proof that dialogue and negotiation are working. We attach importance to continuation of the agreement. This is also important in terms of reducing the world food crisis," Mevlut Cavusoglu told a news conference with his visiting Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in the capital Ankara.

"We agree that the barriers to Russian grain and exports should also be removed. We support efforts to remove these barriers.”

Cavusoglu said it is important to ensure shipments of Russian ammonia and fertilizers as well.

He added that more than 27 million tons of grain have been carried by 866 ships via the Black Sea grain corridor deal, which Türkiye helped broker last year in a bid to avert a potential food crisis amid the Russia-Ukraine war.

Last July, Türkiye, the UN, Russia, and Ukraine signed an agreement in Istanbul to resume grain exports from three Ukrainian Black Sea ports after they were paused due to Russia’s war on Ukraine, which had threatened a world food crisis.

"The war, which has been going on for more than a year, continues to harm the whole world. We once again emphasized our expectation that the war will end on the basis of international law and through negotiations. We are trying to solve problem by negotiating with both parties," Cavusoglu stressed.

Türkiye, internationally praised for its mediator role between Ukraine and Russia, has repeatedly urged Kyiv and Moscow to end the war through negotiations.

News.Az