Turkey has pledged to investigate allegations that Russia has been stealing grain from Ukraine during its invasion, with British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss offering to help during an "urgent" global food crisis.
Truss said on June 23 after a meeting in Ankara with her Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, that the global grain crisis "needs to be solved within the next month otherwise we could see devastating consequences."
The international community has been appealing to Russia to allow exports of Ukrainian grain with Kyiv blaming Moscow blockading its Black Sea ports.
The two countries are among the world's biggest wheat exporters and play a key role in ensuring global food security. The disruption of grain deliveries due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine has also led to sharp increases in global food prices.
"It's very clear that Ukrainian ports must be protected; there needs to be safe passage for commercial vessels. The United Kingdom is offering our expertise on all of those fronts to make sure that we have measures in place so that grain can safely leave, but it is going to require an international effort," Truss said.
Cavusoglu said Turkey would not allow grains stolen by Russia or any other country to be brought onto its territory.