ANKARA

The Turkish foreign minister on Wednesday voiced hopes for the Ankara-brokered grain deal to lead to a negotiated solution to end the war in Ukraine.

Mevlut Cavusoglu made the remarks just as the first grain-laden vessel from Ukraine set off for Lebanon after inspections in Istanbul.

"The UN predicts that the agreement will help renew confidence in the global food markets and reduce prices. We also hope that the recent deal will increase the chances of a negotiated solution and our aim is to end the war in Ukraine. We feel the support of our ASEAN partners in our efforts towards this end," said Cavusoglu at the Türkiye-ASEAN Fourth Sectoral Dialogue Partnership Trilateral Meeting in Cambodia's Phnom Penh.

Türkiye, the UN, Russia, and Ukraine signed the landmark deal on July 22 to reopen three Ukrainian ports -- Odesa, Chernomorsk, and Yuzhny -- for grain that has been stuck for months due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, which is now in its sixth month.

To oversee Ukrainian grain exports, a joint coordination center in Istanbul was officially launched on July 27, comprising representatives from Türkiye, the UN, Russia, and Ukraine to enable the safe transportation by merchant ships of commercial foodstuffs and fertilizers from the three key Ukrainian Black Sea ports.

Noting that Türkiye is increasing its transport and energy ties with Central Asian countries, Cavusoglu said his country aims to "offer a sustainable transport corridor for goods and energy."

"Thanks to our customs union with the European Union and proximity to the major markets, we (Türkiye) can offer a lot to ASEAN's outreach," he said, emphasizing that the partnership between Türkiye and ASEAN is "important to address new global geopolitical challenges."

Cavusoglu also underlined that Türkiye tries to "further develop our engagement with ASEAN" under its Asia Anew initiative.

When Ankara launched the Asia Anew initiative in 2019, Cavusoglu said Türkiye was pushing to “further enhance its relations with Asia, which is becoming the world’s economic center, in multiple dimensions.”

The initiative is seen by experts as a step toward reshaping the future diplomacy of Türkiye, a country that straddles the two continents and, as Cavusoglu stressed at the time “is a bridge between the East and the West.”

Saying that the initiative has the full support of the Turkish government and all Turkish stakeholders, the minister said: "I believe the time has come to raise our cooperation to the level of dialogue partner once the moratorium is lifted. Today we will have the opportunity to discuss these issues and the way forward."

Cambodia is the chair of ASEAN for 2022, which groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

ASEAN is a political and economic union of 10 member states in Southeast Asia, which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political and sociocultural integration between its members in Asia-Pacific.

High level meetings on sidelines

Cavusoglu on Twitter said he met with his Russian counterpart and "discussed safe & stable shipment of Ukrainian grain & regional issues w/FM Lavrov of #Russia on the margins of #ASEAN."

He has also met with his Sri Lankan counterpart Ali Sabry and congratulated him on his appointment.

"Türkiye will continue to support Sri Lanka in these challenging times," Cavusoglu said.
Cavusoglu met with Brunei's Foreign Minister Erywan Yusof as they "reviewed our high level visits and discussed latest developments in Ukraine."

He also met with his Cambodian counterpart as the two "agreed to strengthen our dialogue and add new dimensions to our cooperation."

Separately, the Turkish and New Zealand foreign ministers "discussed cooperation in fight against hate crimes and racism and developments in Ukraine and South East Asia," according to Cavusoglu's Twitter post.

The Turkish foreign minister as well met with his Qatari counterpart in a meeting which "widely discussed bilateral relations, as well as global and regional issues."

Also on Twitter, Cavusoglu said he "discussed our relations, regional and global developments with FM Wang Yi of #China. Conveyed our sensitivities on Uyghur Turks."Premier League to prescribe what matches to take the knee, stressing 'fight against racism'