Zelensky and Erdogan agree to work on a grain corridor

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that he and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had agreed to work on a new grain corridor through the Black Sea, as attacks on shipping threaten one of the world's key food export routes.

Speaking at a joint news conference in Istanbul, Erdogan said attacks on civilian ships in the Black Sea were unacceptable no matter who carried them out, and urged both Russia and Ukraine to act responsibly. Turkey, which has ties with both Moscow and Kyiv, has sent both sides a proposal to stop such attacks. Erdogan said talks on restoring safe navigation would continue and could give new energy to efforts to end the war.

Zelensky blamed Russia for the dangerous situation at sea and said a large part of the talks focused on Black Sea security. He said they also discussed upcoming peace talks involving Russia, Ukraine and the United States, and the possibility of a meeting in Turkey.

In Atlanta, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US was reviewing proposals from Turkey and India to get grain shipments moving and that there was growing interest in a limited ceasefire at sea. He said such a deal would not end the war but would solve one important part of it.