ANKARA, March 8. /TASS/. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan touched upon the grain deal and the security situation in the Black Sea during talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Vladimir Zelensky, Erdogan said at a press conference after their meeting in Istanbul.
"We held a comprehensive discussion on the issues related to the ongoing war. Within our strategic partnership, we will continue to support Ukraine, its territorial integrity. We are willing to intensely facilitate its restoration. We also touched upon the security situation in the Black Sea and the grain agreements, which contributed greatly to food security and enabled the deliveries of millions of metric tons of grain to the countries in need," Erdogan said, as broadcast on Turkish television channels.
Pisoner swaps
Erdogan also is willing to assist in prisoner exchanges between Ukraine and Russia and in ensuring the safety of ships in the Black Sea.
"There are several important aspects. Among them are food security, prisoner exchange and the safety of [commercial] vessels in the Black Sea. We believe that Turkey has some opportunities in this regard, and we should do it. When contacting our dialogue partners, we see some positive approaches concerning these issues, so we cannot say that we have no hope," Erdogan said.
In addition, the Turkish president pointed out that Zelensky had called to ensure the security of ports which are used for grain shipments.