Turkey hopes to extend mediation role in Ukraine war after grain deal success
Defense Minister Hulusi Akar has said the agreement to ship Ukrainian foodstuffs could be a stepping stone toward peace.
ISTANBUL — Flushed with the success of the Ukrainian grain shipment deal it helped negotiate, Turkey is hoping to eventually translate its position as a mediator between Kyiv and Moscow into a peace agreement.
Defense Minister Hulusi Akar hosted UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres in Istanbul over the weekend. The UN chief was given a tour of the Joint Coordination Center running the shipments of grain and other foodstuffs from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports.
Speaking at a news conference on Saturday, Akar stressed Ankara’s desire to further expand cooperation on grain shipments with the aim to “prepare the ground for a permanent peace environment,” adding that “while these needs are being met," "we think that we must think about peace.”
His remarks were backed by Guterres, who said he hoped the “extraordinary spirit of commitment” at the center, which is run by officials from the UN, Turkey, Ukraine and Russia, would result in a “complex [and] lengthy process in which we all would like to see peace triumphing.”
