A Ukrainian journalist took advantage of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s visit to Ankara to confront him with an unwanted question about Ukraine’s grain exports amid fears of world hunger if it is not resolved. problem.
Lavrov was in Turkey on Wednesday to discuss the establishment of safe brokers for Ukraine’s grain exports.
But the press conference of Lavrov and his Turkish counterpart, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, came to an end without the Muslim Umerov being able to ask his question, despite repeated attempts.
So the journalist got up and went straight to Lavrov.
“I’m from Ukrainian public television, I want to ask a question!” He said.
Lavrov seemed embarrassed by the unscripted question, after the carefully worded exchanges at the press conference.
“Apart from cereals, what other goods did you steal from Ukraine and to whom did you sell them?” asked the journalist.
Smiling, Lavrov replied: “You Ukrainians are always worried about what you can steal, and you think that everyone thinks so.
“Our goals there are clear. We want to save people from the pressure of the neo-Nazi regime. We do not clog the grain. For Mr. Zelenskiy to leave the ports, he has to give the order, that’s all, “he added.
Contacted later by Agence France-Presse, Umerov, based in Istanbul for Ukrainian public television, explained that he had raised his hand throughout the question and answer session, but noted that the organizers “did not they would let it go, ”he decided. speak out loud.
“I ran the risk of interrupting the press conference because the whole of Ukraine is waiting for the answer to that question,” he said.
Amid the worsening global food crisis, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said this week that there were “credible reports” that Russia was “rolling” Ukrainian grain exports for sale. ‘ ls with benefits. Blinken said the alleged robbery was part of larger Russian actions during his war in Ukraine that have affected Ukraine’s ability to export its wheat crop.
On Friday, Vasyl Bodnar, Ukraine’s ambassador to Ankara, accused Russia of stealing and exporting Ukrainian grain, especially to Turkey.
Since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine, Lavrov, the target of Western sanctions, has made visits abroad that have taken him notably to China, India, Algeria, Saudi Arabia and twice to Turkey. . He was forced to cancel a trip to Serbia after neighboring countries closed his airspace to his plane.
With Agence France-Presse