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Turkey vows to help unblock Russian exports — Erdogan's spokesman

In Ibrahim Kalin's opinion, the provision of guarantees for the export of fertilizers and grain from Russia should not be taken as "an endorsement of Russia's plans to wage war [in Ukraine]"

ANKARA, November 3. /TASS/. Turkey is going to ensure that the West unblocks the export of food and fertilizers from Russia, Ibrahim Kalin, spokesman for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, announced on Thursday.

"Russia has faced a number of problems. There is no official embargo, but logistics and insurance companies fear possible secondary sanctions. A situation has arisen where cooperation with Russia is avoided. As an international community, we must do something about it, so we are talking about it with our European friends and colleagues in the United States," Kalin said as quoted by the TRT television channel.

In his opinion, the provision of guarantees for the export of fertilizers and grain from Russia should not be taken as "an endorsement of Russia's plans to wage war [in Ukraine]."

On November 2, Russia decided to resume participation in the grain deal after Ukraine, through the mediation of the UN and Turkey, guaranteed in writing that it would not use the security corridor in the Black Sea for military purposes, the Russian Defense Ministry said. However, Moscow stated that they reserve the right to withdraw from the agreement if Kiev violates the guarantees.

On Thursday, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow is pleased that Ukraine, with Ankara's help, has signed such security guarantees, vowing that there won’t be any repeat attempts to use the humanitarian routes for the export of grain in the Black Sea for military purposes. But, he added, Moscow still does not see any progress regarding the second part of the agreement, which concerns removing any obstacles to the export of Russian fertilizers and grain.