Turkey does not leave attempts to resume the dialogue between Ukraine and the Russian Federation, and also expresses its readiness to provide platforms for these negotiations, Ukrainian Ambassador to Turkey Vasily Bodnar said.
“Now Turkey does not leave attempts to resume this dialogue, they express their readiness to provide platforms for these negotiations. Today’s meeting (of the Foreign Ministers of Turkey and Russia – IF) was also aimed at finding common ground for continuing these negotiations. What was publicly stated says that they are more focused on the communication of the parties, that there is a readiness for a possible resumption, and for their part they declare their readiness to contribute to this,” Bodnar said at a briefing at the Ukraine media center on Wednesday.
He added that “so far there is no talk of any specific steps towards this, since it should be clear what conditions which side is expressing.”
“Our immediate condition is the withdrawal of Russian troops. Then the negotiations may have a chance of success and end with the signing of a certain document. Otherwise, the so-called theory of “peace in exchange for territories” does not work for us. And the Turkish side understands this very well, at least trying to find out now the position of the Russian side and help in the resumption of this dialogue,” Bodnar said.
Ukraine in May 2022 exported 1.74 million tonnes of grains and oilseeds, as well as agricultural products, by all means of transport, which is 1.8 times more than in April, according to the website of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food.
“In May, compared to April 2022, there was a reorientation of export channels: 798,800 tonnes and 22,100 tonnes, respectively, were exported by water transport (river ports and ferry crossings), which made the river ports of Ukraine the main export gates,” said the department.
According to the report, in May, 959,350 tonnes of corn (more by 60% compared to April), 43,500 tonnes (an increase of 4.7 times), 11,600 tonnes of barley (less by 2%), 341,800 tonnes of sunflower seeds (an increase of 3.3 times), 66,620 tonnes of soybeans (more by 17%), and 101,000 tonnes of meal (an increase of 2.6 times) were shipped to foreign markets.
In addition, 202,650 tonnes of sunflower oil (more by 56% compared to April this year) and 16,080 tonnes of soybean oil were delivered to buyers abroad in May, which approximately corresponds to the April figures of 16,380 tonnes.
Due to the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine and the blockade of its export infrastructure in the Black Sea, the pace of exports of agricultural products is still inferior to the same period in 2021. So, in May 2021, some 2.24 million tonnes of corn, 857,800 tonnes of wheat, 22,000 tonnes of barley, 189,600 tonnes of sunflower seeds, 501,800 tonnes of sunflower oil, 36,180 tonnes of soybeans, 20,600 tonnes of soybean oil and 440,000 tonnes of meal were exported.
According to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, in May, 709,600 tonnes of export supplies of agricultural products, or 40% of its total exports, were shipped by rail. Some 56% of all exports of soybean oil, 53% of corn, 48% of meal, 39% of barley, 33% of soybeans and 28% of sunflower oil were transported by rail.
In turn, 75% of wheat, 59% of sunflower seeds, 57% of barley, 50% of soybeans and 43% of meal were exported through the river ports of the Danube.
Road transport in May provided 40% of exports of soybean oil, 32% of sunflower oil and 23% of sunflower seeds.
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer announced the need to create a “European preparatory space” (Europäischen Vorbereitungsraum), staying in which will allow Ukraine and Moldova to come closer to EU standards.
According to him, it should be “an intermediate step between cooperation and full accession to the EU.”
“We are united by one goal, we all want a strong, independent and economically successful Ukraine. Currently, Ukraine is fighting for its political and territorial survival. All our efforts are primarily aimed at ending Russia’s aggressive war. At such a stage, rapid full accession to the European Union cannot be a topical issue anyway,” Nehammer said in an interview with Kronen Zeitung.
According to him, it is necessary to “remove emotions from the current debate and apply the same standards that are also used in relation to other applicants from the Western Balkans.”
“In my opinion, the immediate full accession of Ukraine is unrealistic,” the Chancellor said.
Nehammer said he supported French President Emmanuel Macron’s interesting idea of creating a “European Political Community”. “Discussions are largely about either – or. Little attention has been paid to practical options that ensure close ties with the EU in many areas and strengthen the Ukrainian economy. But this is exactly what is needed now,” the Chancellor said.
According to the newspaper, according to the Federal Chancellery, close and gradual cooperation between the EU and Ukraine is possible in various fields, similar to what is envisaged by the French proposals. Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg and European Minister Caroline Edtstadler have already addressed the EU partners with these proposals.
Ukraine continues to be an import-dependent state in the market of fish and fish products with a negative trade balance, while the Russian full-scale invasion has only worsened the situation in the industry.
The relevant conclusions were announced by members of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Agrarian and Land Policy during off-site committee hearings in Izmail (Odesa region) on Thursday, according to the website of the parliamentary committee.
According to it, due to the aggression of the Russian Federation, Ukrainian producers in the Azov-Black Sea basin actually did not work in 2022 due to violations of logistics, the destruction of warehouses of frozen products by enemy shelling, the debt of retail chains for the supply of fish products and the absence of fish in the list of critical imports.
The committee also emphasizes that, in addition to military factors, the fishing industry in Ukraine suffers from systemic problems that have accumulated over the years. These are the lack of effective management for many years, in particular the lack of a strategy and program for the development of fisheries; outdated regulatory framework in the industry; the difficulty of obtaining the right to conduct aquaculture and commercial fishing, unequal access to a common limited resource and the existence of shadow fisheries.
Based on the results of the hearings, draft recommendations have been prepared, which will be considered at the committee meeting.
Representatives of Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the UN will gather in Istanbul in the coming days to discuss a plan of action on the situation around problems with grain exports, the Turkish Anadolu agency reports, citing its own data.
“The details of the road map will be discussed in the coming days during the meeting, which will be attended by Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and UN representatives,” the statement said.
According to Anadolu, the meeting will consider issues related to “insurance and security of ships, as well as demining the region.”
The agency indicates that it is planned to create a coordination center in Istanbul, which “should allow sending about 20 million tons of grain and sunflower seeds from Russia and Ukraine to world markets.”
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said he expects good news from partner countries regarding arms supplies.
“The United States has confirmed at various levels that modern HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems are being sent to our state. These weapons will really help save the lives of our people and protect our land,” Zelensky said in a video message on Friday night.
He thanked US President Joseph Biden and the American people for such support.
“We also expect good news about the supply of weapons from other partners. For example, today there is a new defense assistance package from Sweden,” the president said, adding that Ukraine is working to bring the volume of deliveries, primarily of modern combat systems, to higher level.
