By Tom Balmforth
UNITED NATIONS, Sept 23 (Reuters) – President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told leaders at the United Nations on Wednesday that Ukraine was ready for a maritime truce in the Black Sea based on proposals by Egypt, India and Turkey and said it was now up to Russia to respond.
Zelenskiy spoke at Ukraine’s Crimean Platform summit on the sidelines of the annual UN General Assembly gathering of world leaders and ahead of a Security Council meeting on Russia’s war in Ukraine, which is now in its fifth year.
Ukraine, which fears that Russia plans to pound power and heating facilities with missiles and drones this winter, has been pressing for ceasefires covering attacks on energy infrastructure and shipping in the Black Sea.
Zelenskiy said Egypt, India and Turkey had outlined options to restore safe navigation for merchant shipping in the Black Sea, where cargo movements are at a near standstill due to heavy attacks on ships and port infrastructure by both sides.
“We are waiting for Russia’s response. Ukraine is ready … to ensure safe shipping and food security in the Black Sea if Russia is ready to take real steps towards de-escalation too. We have to start somewhere,” he said.
Top wheat importers in Asia, the Middle East and Africa that count on the Black Sea region for wheat have been finding it hard to secure supplies. Global wheat prices have soared.
Zelenskiy, who was expected to address the UN General Assembly later on Wednesday, met US President Donald Trump on Tuesday and said they had also discussed a Russia-Ukraine ceasefire on energy-related targets.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters after meeting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday that both Russia and Ukraine had expressed interest in a limited ceasefire involving grain and energy.
The Kremlin has not publicly backed the proposals.
Ahead of the Lavrov-Rubio meeting, the Kremlin said there were no grounds for wider Ukraine peace talks, while saying it remained open to such talks.
“For now, there are no prerequisites for moving on to a peaceful negotiating track, although we, as the Russian side, remain open to peace talks,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Zelenskiy said on Tuesday that he would be ready to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin at a trilateral meeting with Trump.
(Reporting by Tom Balmforth; editing by Howard Goller)
