ANKARA

Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip have affected arms aid by Western countries to Ukraine and perceptions on the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, said Ukraine's Ambassador to Türkiye Vasyl Bodnar.

"International media has turned its attention to this direction, so there are those who think that the war in Ukraine has ended," Bodnar said.

Bodnar met with Turkish journalists at the Ukrainian Embassy in the capital, Ankara, to make evaluations on the Russia-Ukraine war, Israel's attacks on Gaza, the Black Sea grain deal, defense cooperation with Türkiye, and prisoner exchange.

The ambassador said the weapons planned to be given to Ukraine were sent to Israel, and the internal political dynamics in Western countries are a factor affecting aid.

He cited the upcoming presidential election in the US, the attitude of the governments of Hungary and Slovakia, and the blockades imposed by farmers on Ukrainian trucks at the border gates in Poland among these dynamics.

Evaluating the new route used by Ukrainian cargo ships after the Black Sea grain deal was not extended by Russia, Bodnar said more than 500 ships have passed through this corridor since September and added the ships sailing from Odessa Port alone carried 14 million tons of food during this period.

Last July, Moscow withdrew from the Black Sea grain initiative, saying that the Russian part of the agreement had not been implemented. It sought the loosening of banking restrictions and the ability to ship its own fertilizer before returning to the deal.

The agreement, initially signed in July 2022 in Istanbul by Türkiye, the UN, Russia, and Ukraine, was aimed at resuming grain exports from the three Ukrainian ports halted due to the war, which began in February 2022.

Bodnar pointed out that it is "advantageous" to transport not only food but also other materials through the new corridor, which is an initiative of Ukraine.

He added the region was cleared of mines to create this new corridor and insurance was purchased for the ships from a British company.

The transportation, he said, continues on the Danube River without halt, adding that the annual cargo volume carried by the ships departing from the three ports is 6 million tons. He also said the products are mostly delivered to Europe via railway.

Black Sea grain can be revived under 'appropriate conditions'

Bodnar, who pointed out the importance of Türkiye in the operation of the new corridor, said the Black Sea grain deal can be revived "if appropriate conditions are met."

The ambassador cited allowing Ukrainian ships free passage and carrying materials other than food as these conditions.

He said the World Food Program, one of the largest suppliers of Ukrainian wheat, has warehouses in countries such as Spain and Egypt, as well as Türkiye. "Fixing the wheat price is the success of Türkiye and Ukraine."

Turning to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, Bodnar said Russia wishes to return to the Soviet Union period, when its "war crimes" committed in countries such as Moldova, Chechnya and Syria went unpunished.

He argued that Russia's aim was to restore the balance of the Slavic population by invading Ukraine, as the Slavic population was gradually decreasing.

Regarding a possible cease-fire and peace with Russia, he underlined: "We will not discuss any issue with Russia unless it removes its army from Ukrainian territory."

Recalling the Maidan events of 2014, Bodnar said that if Ukraine says it is making peace with Russia, this could lead to a major division and problems in Ukrainian society.

He argued that Russia was renewing its defense industry to continue the war, as he added that Ukraine recently obtained information that Russia is producing unmanned marine vehicles and shared this information with Turkish authorities.

About the 1936 Montreux Convention – which gives Türkiye the authority to restrict the passage of naval vessels through the Turkish Straits during times of war, Bodnar said: "It is a great help for us that Russian ships cannot go in and out the Black Sea."

"We can protect Odesa since the straits are closed," he added.

'Ukraine should stand as a lesson to other countries'

Bodnar said Russia thinks it is fighting the West and NATO, not Ukraine, and that the discourse that "it is cheaper to help Ukraine than to fight ourselves" is observed in the West.

Emphasizing that Kyiv is aware of the existence of different ideas in Western countries regarding aid to Ukraine, Bodnar said Ukraine has started to expand its weapons production capacity for this reason.

He stressed the importance of a country producing its own weapons, saying: "Ukraine should stand as a lesson to other countries."

Regarding the cooperation between Türkiye and Ukraine, the ambassador said Ukraine expects the bilateral foreign trade volume to be near $8 billion annually and later to exceed it after the approval of the free trade agreement.

Saying that Ukraine supplies engines for Türkiye's unmanned aerial vehicle and helicopter projects, Bodnar added that he cannot give further information about the factory that Türkiye's defense company Baykar plans to open in Ukraine due to security reasons.

About the release of Azov commanders to Ukraine last year, the ambassador said Türkiye played an important role in this regard, and negotiations at the leadership level for a new agreement on prisoner exchange are continuing.

The Azov Battalion commanders, who were included in a prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine, were in Türkiye for security purposes.

"We are at a disadvantage. We only have prisoners of war. In Russia, there are prisoners of war, political prisoners and children," Bodnar added.

Türkiye, internationally praised for its unique mediator role between Ukraine and Russia, has time and again called on Kyiv and Moscow to end the fighting through negotiations.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly stressed his wish to bring Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy together in Türkiye for formal discussions to end the conflict.

*Writing by Diyar Guldogan from Washington