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663719
Mon, 07/10/2023 - 16:22
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Lavrov Notes Destructiveness of Arms Supplies to Kiev in Talks With Turkish Counterpart
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted the destructiveness of Ankara's position on weapons deliveries to Ukraine during a telephone conversation with his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan, on Sunday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
"Ankara's attention was drawn to the destructiveness of the course for ongoing supplies of military equipment to the Kiev regime. These steps, as it was stressed, can only lead to negative consequences," a Foreign Ministry statement summarizing Lavrov's remarks read.
Lavrov and Fidan also exchanged views on the regional agenda, including the controversial decision to return commanders from the ultra-nationalist Azov Regiment* from Turkiye to Ukraine on Saturday, the ministry said.
"The prospects were also touched upon for further cooperation on the issues related to ensuring global food security in the face of the inability of Western states to take steps necessary to implement the well-known 'package initiative' of the UN secretary-general," the Foreign Ministry statement added.
Turkiye has played a unique role among NATO countries in the conflict in Ukraine, sending weapons (including heavy Bayraktar drones) to Kiev, but also continuing to cooperate with Moscow economically in areas including natural gas energy and nuclear power, selling tomatoes to Russia, and serving as a hub facilitating air travel after the closure of most Western countries' airspace to Russian airlines.
Ankara also played an instrumental role in brokering peace negotiations between Moscow and Kiev in the spring of 2022 (which were ultimately broken off at Washington and London's behest), and helped negotiate the so-called Black Sea Grain Initiative, under which Ukraine was allowed to continue to export grain through Russian-controlled waters, ostensibly to prevent a global hunger crisis. Moscow has signaled that the grain deal likely won't be extended beyond the July 17 renewal date, owing to the failure of the West and Ukraine to facilitate Russia's own grain and fertilizer exports, and data showing that much of the grain goes to wealthy countries, instead of needy nations in the Global South, as was promised. Ukraine's destruction of a major ammonia pipeline running from Togliatti to Odessa last month further weakened the prospects of the deal being renewed.
Turkiye was the last NATO power to approve Finland's entry into the alliance, with Sweden's bid for alliance membership continuing to be held up amid Turkish concerns over Stockholm's tolerance for Kurdish militants and Quran burnings. The topic of Swedish NATO membership is expected to be discussed, and possibly resolved, at the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius next week. In a related development, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced Saturday that "without a doubt, Ukraine deserves to be in NATO," a position anathema to the Russian side.
* The neo-Nazi Azov Regiment is banned in Russia as a terrorist organization.
