United Kingdom’s Foreign Secretary Liz Truss on Thursday during a visit to Ankara, said the crisis around grain trapped in Ukraine must be resolved in the next month ahead of the new harvest.
Speaking at a news conference alongside Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, Ms Truss accused Russia of “weaponising hunger” and using food security as a “callous tool of war” with its blockade of Ukrainian grain.
She went on to say the UK and Turkey were working “closely together”, in particular to get the “grain out of Ukraine”.
Ms Truss told reporters: “(Vladimir) Putin is weaponising hunger. He is using food security as a callous tool of war. He has blocked Ukrainian ports, and is stopping 20 million tonnes of grain being exported across the globe, holding the world to ransom.
“I’m here in Turkey to discuss the plan to get the grain out, supported by the United Nations. We’re clear that commercial vessels need to have safe passage to be able to leave Ukrainian ports, and that Ukrainian ports should be protected from Russian attacks.
“We support the UN talks, but Russia cannot be allowed to delay and prevaricate. It’s urgent that action is taken within the next month ahead of the new harvest. And we’re determined to work with our allies to deliver this.”