At a time when the violence of the war between RUSSIA and Ukraine is increasing, the US administration is making a new attempt to seek a diplomatic solution. US President Donald Trump's special representative Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner will hold a series of meetings in Moscow and Kiev over the weekend. According to the Russian official news agency TASS, the duo will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow today and are expected to set foot in Kiev tomorrow for the first time since Trump took office and meet with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky. The statements made before the visit by Russia and Ukraine, who insist on their positions without compromising on their own conditions, and that "a surprise peace move is not improbable" attracted attention.
'USA IS ACTING LOGICALLY'
Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov did not give any details about the duo's visit to Moscow. Stating that the necessary statements will be made after the meeting, Peskov said, "I can say that they approached the mediation mission they undertook wisely and logically. Considering the attitude of Ukraine in the current possible contact, I cannot say that there will be no result. We want to think that there is hope for peace." When asked by a journalist whether a security guarantee would be given to the plane that will carry US representatives, he replied: "If the guests have concerns about the security of Russian airspace, we are not the addressee. The American side should contact Ukraine regarding air transportation to Russia and ask them not to open fire. Russia will not deal with Ukraine on this issue." Ukrainian leader Zelenski said in a statement during the week that Russian airspace will no longer be safe due to the intense drone attacks they will carry out.
TRANSPORTATION POLEMIC TO KYIV
There is a transportation polemic on the Ukraine leg of Witkoff and Kushner's visit. Sources in the Ukrainian administration stated that according to the initial plan, Trump's representatives planned to land at Kiev airport using closed airspace by private plane after their contacts in Moscow, despite the ongoing war. However, after the Russian army launched a missile attack on the "Julian" international airport in Kiev the previous night, Witkoff gave up his plan for a direct flight to Kiev. Instead, Witkoff and Kushner, who will fly back to Poland from Moscow, will reach Zelensky on a 12-hour train ride, as all Western diplomats do. Russia's attack on Kiev airport before the critical visit led to comments that "the Russians are trying to prevent Trump's representatives from coming to Kiev."
WHO WANTS WHAT?
The previous attempts of the USA did not yield results because the gap between the expectations of the parties was not closed. Russian leader Putin wants Ukraine to officially accept that Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporozhye, Kherson and Crimea belong to Russia. Russia wants the remaining world states to accept this fact. Moscow's other condition is that Ukraine will never be accepted into NATO. Ukraine, on the other hand, wants a ceasefire to be declared based on the front line in the first stage. He then advocates starting negotiations. He advocates that security in the buffer zone to be created on the front line be provided by third country forces. It does not accept that the pieces of land that Russia seized from Ukraine should be handed over to Russia under any circumstances.
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Russia hit the headquarters of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) in the capital Kiev with unmanned aerial vehicles. 9 people were injured. It was claimed that the main target of the bombs was SBU Chairman Oleksandr Poklad, who was not in his room at the time. Ukrainian leader Zelenski stated that he had ordered retaliation and said, "We have determined the place to hit in Russia. We are just waiting for the right time."
CRISIS IN THE BLACK SEA HAS HIT ARAB BAKERIES
The mutual attacks between RUSSIA and Ukraine spread to ports and commercial ships, which are the key points of grain trade in the Black Sea, and hit the bakeries of Arab countries thousands of kilometers away. The serious disruption of shipments via the Black Sea increased the import costs of Arab countries, which are among the main buyers of Russian and Ukrainian wheat. According to Al Jazeera's analysis, while wheat prices have increased by approximately 25 percent since January, the livelihood burden of Arab families, who have started to allocate more money for bread and basic food, has increased. In order to deliver bread to the public at affordable prices, Arab governments, which undertook part of the cost, also had to allocate more resources from the budget. According to the analysis, it was stated that 70 million people were provided with state-supported bread in Egypt, which has a population of approximately 120 million.
Experts point out that wheat purchases from France, Romania, Bulgaria or Australia are not a way out for Arab countries. Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan stated in his statement after the first committee meeting of the Mecca Defense Agreement on Monday that "Turkey is in contact with Russia and Ukraine for an agreement similar to the grain agreement in 2022."
While dozens of commercial ships in the Black Sea have become the target of the war parties in recent months, the grain market is also affected by this situation.
