Turkey Notes Progress in Talks on Stalled Ukrainian Wheat Exports

Turkish officials say there is a potential breakthrough in efforts to release Ukrainian grain to world markets as global food prices soar amid Russia’s war with Ukraine. Turkey’s defense minister, Hulusi Akar, said an agreement is likely to be announced soon following four-way talks Wednesday among Russian, Ukrainian, United Nations, and Turkish officials in Istanbul.

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said in a statement after Wednesday’s talks that a deal to allow the release of millions of tons of Ukrainian grain could come as early as next week.

Akar said Turkey would play a pivotal role in checking shipments in harbors and guaranteeing the safety of Black Sea export routes. In addition, a coordination center with Ukraine, Russia, and the United Nations for exporting grain would be set up in Turkey, he said.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, while welcoming the process, also cautioned Wednesday that this is not yet a done deal.

“More technical work will now be needed to materialize today’s progress. But the momentum is clear,” he said.

Trust has been a key stumbling block in months of diplomatic efforts to reach a deal. Kyiv has said it fears that if it de-mines its ports to allow cargo ships to export grain, Russian forces will use that move to their advantage and attack. The grain has been stuck amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Aaron Stein of Philadelphia-based Foreign Policy Research Institute said trust and international sanctions on Russia have been the main obstacles.

“This food corridor would require the Ukrainians to remove mines from seaports. They were put there for a reason to keep Russians from invading their country. And there is no appetite whatsoever to lift sanctions, and that is the Russian demand, and that is not going to happen,” said Stein.

The Reuters news agency quotes a U.N. official speaking anonymously as saying that most of the sticking points have been overcome, without giving details.

Moscow has so far not commented on the Istanbul talks.

Meanwhile, the U.N. warns that unless tens of millions of tons of grain stuck in Ukrainian ports are released, world food prices will continue to climb, threatening famine across the globe.

Ukraine is a leading wheat exporter, and nations in Africa are heavily dependent on Ukrainian grain. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine is determined to reach a deal.

Zelenskyy said his government is putting significant effort into resuming the supply of food to the world market. He said he is grateful to the United Nations and Turkey for their efforts.

The progress at the Istanbul talks has underlined Turkey’s position as a critical facilitator in negotiations between the warring parties, said Sinan Ulgen of the Center for Economics and Foreign Policy Studies, a research organization in Istanbul.

“President (Recep Tayyip) Erdogan has been careful to highlight that Turkey wants to maintain relations with both sides. So, as a result of this balanced policy, Turkey has been trying to carve out a space for diplomatic influence as a facilitator or potentially as a mediator,” said Ulgen.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has close ties with his Ukrainian and Russian counterparts. Ahead of the Istanbul talks, the Turkish leader spoke with Zelenskyy. Next week, the Turkish leader is scheduled to meet face-to face with President Vladimir Putin in Tehran for talks that could be key to finalizing any deal to get Ukrainian grain back on world markets.

Source: Voice of America

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Somalia’s President Speaks to Parents of Troops in Eritrea, Says to Return Soon

Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has met with parents of troops training in Eritrea and promised they will soon return home to fight against the Islamist militant group al-Shabab. Somalia sent thousands of soldiers to train in Eritrea, sparking a series of protests over the last year from parents who were unable to communicate with them. Mohamud met with the troops on a visit to Eritrea this week, where he agreed to improve bilateral relations.

Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud met Wednesday night in Mogadishu with the parents of Somali cadets who have been in secretive military training in Eritrea, in some cases since 2018, without communicating with their families.

Mohamud, who met the troops during a state visit to Eritrea on Sunday, said their sons were doing well and would be deployed in the fight against Islamist militant group al-Shabab when they return home.

He said all the troops were given money to buy SIM cards so they can talk to their parents today or tomorrow.

The Somali president did not give a timeline for when the troops would return, but he pledged to follow up on the trainees’ case shortly after he took office in late May.

Video of Mohamud’s meeting with the parents was distributed by the president’s office.

In the video, parents thanked the president for his efforts to bring the troops back home.

One father, Ilyaas Kulubow, pledged their support for the military and the president.

He says after the civil war in 1991 there were no schools. You are the one who established schools and educated these boys, says Kulubow, we just fathered them. He says we gifted the boys to you to protect you starting from today. Thank you very much, says Kulubow, and we ask Allah (God) to be with you to be able to reconcile among Somalis.

Mohamud’s meeting with the troops in Eritrea this week was the first time many of them were seen since the training first began in 2018.

Somalia’s previous government had dismissed concerns from parents who were unable to reach their children in training and would not provide details.

A U.N. report in June last year said thousands of Somali troops had taken part in the war in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, prompting protests by parents who feared their sons were the ones sent to fight.

Somalia’s government denies any of the Somali troops that trained in Eritrea were involved in Ethiopia’s Tigray conflict. Some media reports and critics dispute that account and allege some have been killed in Ethiopia.

Matt Brydon is a Nairobi-based independent Horn of Africa security analyst.

“There is some indication they were actually deployed initially under the Tripartite alliance established between Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea in 2018 as part of a regional standby force and they might therefore be based in Eritrea for some time. But that force never materialized,” said Matt.

Abdirisak Adan was an adviser to former Somali President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed.

He says many countries train Somali soldiers, including Eritrea. The problem, says Adan, was that the administration of (former President) Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, also known as Farmaajo, kept their information secret and didn’t share it with the parents.

During his visit to Eritrea on Tuesday, President Mohamud and Eritrean President Isais Afwerki agreed to improve relations between their countries, including strengthening defense and security relations.

Source: Voice of America