Blinken, Turkish foreign minister discuss Black Sea grain initiative

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held a phone call with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. (File/Wikipedia)

LONDON: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held a phone call on Saturday with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, where the two sides discussed a number of issues, the State Department said.
During the call, the two sides underscored the importance of Armenia-Azerbaijan peace discussions, State Department Spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.
Blinken thanked Turkiye for its leadership in the Black Sea Grain Initiative and noted the urgent need to address the Kremlin’s inhumane use of food as a weapon of war, Miller added.
The UN-sponsored “Initiative on the Safe Transportation of Grain and Foodstuffs from Ukrainian Ports” was signed in July 2022 in Istanbul to resume Ukrainian grain exports via the Black Sea amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.
“The secretary also thanked Turkiye for its commitment to send Sweden’s NATO accession protocol to the Turkish parliament for ratification,” he also said.
Earlier on Saturday, a source at the Turkish foreign ministry also confirmed that the two top diplomats discussed a normalization process between Azerbaijan and Armenia, the security of the Black Sea and NATO enlargement during the call.