LVIV: Despite Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s warning of an impending nuclear catastrophe in Ukraine during the first face-to-face talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky since the invasion started, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged Russia but also Ukraine on Thursday to demonstrate a “spirit of compromise” to ensure the continued success of a UN-brokered deal.
“We’re concerned. During a news conference in the eastern city of Lviv, Erdogan declared, “We don’t want another Chernobyl. Ankara is a solid ally.
We are on the side of our Ukrainian allies while working to find a solution, Erdogan stated.Putin and Erdogan met less than two weeks ago at the Black Sea resort of Sochi despite Erdogan’s significant geopolitical conflicts with the Kremlin and their tight professional ties.
The agreement, signed in Istanbul last month and authorising the restart of grain exports from Ukraine after Russia’s invasion cut off vital world supplies, was negotiated in large part by the Turkish president and Guterres.
The port authorities of Ukraine said that the 25th cargo ship under the agreement had sailed for Egypt carrying 33,000 tonnes of grain prior to the press conference with Zelensky.
After negotiations in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, Guterres noted that 15 ships had left Istanbul for Ukraine to carry grain and other food supplies, and that 21 ships had left Ukrainian ports in less than a month as a result of the agreement.
