ANKARA: Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Wednesday detailed a UN plan to create a sea corridor from Ukraine for grain exports, saying safe routes could be formed without needing to clear the mines around Ukrainian ports.
His comments appeared to mark a shift from an earlier proposal to de-mine Ukraine’s ports, a move that Kyiv fears would leave it far more vulnerable to Russian attack from the Black Sea.
Cavusoglu discussed the plan with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Ankara last week, but said further discussions with Moscow and Kyiv were needed. Lavrov then said that the onus was on Ukraine to clear mines around its ports for commercial ships to approach.
Speaking to reporters, Cavusoglu said it would “take some time” to de-mine Ukraine’s ports and that a safe sea corridor could meanwhile be established in areas without mines under the UN proposal, adding that Ankara was still awaiting Moscow’s reaction to the plan.
“Since the location of the mines is known, certain safe lines would be established at three (Ukrainian) ports,” he said. “These (commercial) ships, with the guidance of Ukraine’s research and rescue vessels as envisaged in the plan, could thus come and go safely to ports without a need to clear the mines.”
Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine halted Kyiv’s Black Sea grain exports, helping to cause a global food crisis. The United Nations has appealed to the two sides, as well as to their maritime neighbor and NATO member Turkey, to agree a corridor.
Moscow denies responsibility for the food crisis, blaming Western sanctions.
Turkey has the second biggest army in NATO and a substantial navy. It also has good relations with both Kyiv and Moscow, and has said it ready to take up a role within an “observation mechanism” based in Istanbul if there is a deal.
Turkey’s state broadcaster TRT Haber said a hotline had also been created between Turkey, Ukraine and Russia. Over the hotline a general from each country can take part in talks to “discuss the issue more closely and reach a result,” it said.
Turkey details UN plan for grain exports without need to de-mine Ukraine ports
https://arab.news/gjwtm
Turkey details UN plan for grain exports without need to de-mine Ukraine ports
- His comments appeared to mark a shift from an earlier proposal to de-mine Ukraine's ports
- A safe sea corridor could meanwhile be established in areas without mines under the UN proposal
Pro-Palestine protest planned in Sydney against Israeli President Herzog’s visit
- Herzog is visiting Australia this week following an invitation from Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in the aftermath of the deadly shooting at Bondi Beach
SYDNEY: Pro-Palestine demonstrators plan to rally in Sydney on Monday to protest the visit by Israeli President Isaac Herzog, as authorities declared his visit a major event and deployed thousands of police to manage the crowds.
Police have urged the protesters to gather at a central Sydney park for public safety reasons, but protest organizers said they plan to rally at the city’s historic Town Hall instead.
Police have been authorized to use rarely invoked powers during the visit, including the ability to separate and move crowds, restrict their entry to certain areas, direct people to leave and search vehicles.
“We’re hoping we won’t have to use any powers, because we’ve been liaising very closely with the protest organizers,” New South Wales Police Assistant Commissioner Peter McKenna told Nine News on Monday.
“Overall, it is all of the community that we want to keep safe ... we’ll be there in significant numbers just to make sure that the community is safe.”
About 3,000 police personnel will be deployed across Sydney, Australia’s largest city.
Herzog is visiting Australia this week following an invitation from Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in the aftermath of the deadly shooting at Bondi Beach.
He is expected to meet survivors and the families of 15 people killed in the December 14 shooting during a Jewish Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach.
In a statement, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry Co-Chief Executive Alex Ryvchin said Herzog’s visit “will lift the spirits of a pained community.”
Herzog’s visit has drawn opposition from pro-Palestine groups, with protests planned in major cities across Australia, and the Palestine Action Group has launched a legal challenge in a Sydney court against restrictions placed on the expected protests.
“A national day of protest will be held today, calling for the arrest and investigation of Isaac Herzog, who has been found by the UN Commission of Inquiry to have incited genocide in Gaza,” the Palestine Action Group said in a statement.
The Jewish Council of Australia, a vocal critic of the Israeli government, released an open letter on Monday signed by over 1,000 Jewish Australian academics and community leaders, urging Albanese to rescind Herzog’s invitation.
