The first grain ship to leave a Ukrainian port since the start of the war, the Razoni, is expected in the course of next night off Istanbul, where it is to undergo an inspection on Wednesday morning by Russian, Ukrainian, Turkish and United Nations experts. Turkey, the main mediator of the agreement which allowed this unblocking, reaps diplomatic benefits but also bears a responsibility.
With our correspondent in Ankara, Anne Andlauer
In his first reaction to the departure of Razoni from the port of Odessa, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hailed a success for his country and praised the effectiveness of the Joint Coordination Center based in Istanbul.
Russian, Ukrainian and Turkish soldiers are at work in this center, but no armed escort accompanies the boats on their journey in the Black Sea. In addition to a leading geographic role and diplomaticTurkey finds a strategic interest in it, observes Serhat Güvenç, a professor at Kadir Has University in Istanbul, a specialist in defense and foreign policy issues: “ Having negotiated a completely “civilian” solution, and not having involved any foreign country on the shores of the Black Sea, is one of the most important points of this success for Turkey. »
But with success also comes responsibility. Ukraine repeats it: it does not trust Russia. It is counting on the United Nations but above all on Turkey so that Ankara puts pressure on Moscow and urges it to keep his word. ” If Russia abandons the agreement and uses these maritime corridors to carry out an amphibious operation against Odessa or another Ukrainian city on the Black Sea, Turkey will bear a very heavy responsibility. »
However, according to this expert, the evolution of the situation on the military ground in Ukraine and the implementation of the agreement on cereals decreases, without canceling it, the probability of a Russian attack.
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