Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in Turkey to discuss the creation of sea routes to export Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea, and on Wednesday Lavrov is due to meet with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.

Yesterday, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, in a telephone conversation with his Turkish counterpart Hulusi Akar, discussed the situation in Ukraine and Syria, explaining that “at the initiative of the Turkish side, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu held June 7, 2022, telephone conversations with the Minister of National Defense of Turkey Hulusi Akar, the main attention was paid to the exchange of views and assessments of the situation in Ukraine and Syria, as well as the defense ministers discussed in detail the issues of safety of navigation in the Black Sea related to solving the problem of exporting grain from the territory of Ukraine, and in Syria the importance of continuing close cooperation aimed at maintaining long-term stability in the region.