Black Sea statement from US Secretary of State Rubio: We are examining Türkiye's offer

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio made evaluations about the Ukraine-Russia war at the press conference he held in Atlanta after the G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting. Pointing out that ship attacks in the Black Sea threaten global food and energy security, Rubio noted that a limited ceasefire option is on the agenda to secure grain shipments.

The US Minister said, "There are different problems in different regions regarding the freedom of maritime transportation. When we look at the Black Sea, we see that many countries have expressed their opinions and are ready to contribute. Both Turkey and India came to the table with some suggestions that will ensure the reactivation of grain shipments. Because this situation threatens the world's food security and partly its energy security."

Speaking about whether a ceasefire is possible to secure grain shipments in the Black Sea and ensure food security, Marco Rubio said:

"I think there is a growing interest in the international community to become a guarantor or facilitator of an agreement to solve this problem, which threatens energy security as well as food and grain shipments. I can say that the interest in playing a role in this issue has increased again. For example, we are examining the proposals that Türkiye sent to us about a week or two ago in this context. We will continue to evaluate these proposals. We want to reach such an agreement. This will not end the war, but it will at least resolve a certain aspect of the war."

'THERE IS INTEREST IN FACILITATING THE AGREEMENT'

Evaluating the possibility of a ceasefire, Rubio said, "I am not someone who makes probability calculations. I cannot say that it is more or less. However, I can say that there is an interest in facilitating such an agreement. Moreover, this is not a new issue. For example, Turkey made continuous efforts in the past on this issue and ensured that an agreement came into force for a while. However, the agreement in question was later broken down. Therefore, I do not want to make a prediction about the possibility of reaching an agreement. I think that this affects many countries of the world and this effect has been expressed today. Especially the African continent is paying a heavy price for this situation. There is also energy "It has a size," he said.

'WAR IS EXTREMELY BRUTAL AND DESTRUCTIVE'

Rubio, who defended inviting Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to the meeting, stated that it was not possible to end the war through diplomatic means without meeting with Moscow. Describing the war in Ukraine as "extremely brutal and destructive", the US minister pointed out that the conflicts carry the risk of spreading to other countries due to sabotage attempts and unmanned aerial vehicles entering NATO airspace.

Emphasizing the importance of cooperation in areas where there are common points even though the interests of the countries do not always coincide, Rubio said, "Because we all face these challenges, we must work together to overcome them."

Marco Rubio, who announced that he had a short meeting with Lavrov on the margins of the meeting, announced that the possibility of US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin meeting at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting to be held next month or at the G20 Leaders Summit to be held at Trump's Doral golf resort in Miami in December was discussed.

Stating that Putin has not yet made a definitive commitment to attend the G20 Leaders Summit, Rubio stated that if such a participation occurs, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenski may also be invited.