Delegations from Ukraine and Russia are to hold direct talks on the security of the Black Sea on April 15-16 in Ankara, Türkiye, CNN Turk’s sources in the Turkish Defense Ministry reported today. It reports: “Following a possible ceasefire between the Russian Federation and Ukraine,” the meeting will commence.” Assumedly, the reference is to a ceasefire in the Black Sea, but it was not specified. The meeting will include “military representatives of foreign countries” and they will discuss “the naval dimension of military plans that can be made in order to maintain peace in the Black Sea....”
The security of the Black Sea was the second step discussed last month by U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Both Russia and Ukraine are to be able to carry out commercial shipping of grain and other products. Progress, however, has stalled, as the implementation involves the West removing the sanctions that they had imposed on the specific financial institutions in Russia, such as the Agricultural Bank, which is involved in commercial shipping there. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen ruled out that limited arrangement, saying that there had to first be “a just and lasting peace” established. Ukraine’s acting president Volodymyr Zelenskyy had rejected the arrangement, saying that it was “a weakening of positions and a weakening of sanctions” against Russia.
UPDATE: In a development later today, the Turkish Hürriyet Daily News clarified that “Officials from the Ministry of National Defense will discuss how to maintain peace in the Black Sea if Russia and Ukraine reach a ceasefire agreement.” They noted that other countries may be involved in the meeting. Later, the Ministry itself issued a statement affirming that the meeting will take place, and confirming the Hürriyet Daily News report that it is their Ministry’s meeting, that representatives of other nations’ military forces may attend, and that Ukraine was not mentioned.
Spokesman for Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry Heorhiy Tykhyi denied that there would be any such meeting next week, saying, “This is something Turkish media made up; there will be no meeting in the format of Ukraine-Russia and it was never planned.”
