Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that India, Turkey, Egypt, and other Middle Eastern countries were taking part in talks to unblock shipping in the Black Sea.
"Egypt, India, Turkey, and representatives from the Middle East - I had separate conversations with the leadership of these countries, and our Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also been in contact with their counterparts in these countries," Zelensky told reporters in a WhatsApp briefing. "In addition to these countries, there were also proposals from other nations to deblock the Black Sea."
Turkey steps up efforts to re-open Black Sea shipping as Russia, Ukraine escalate strikes
Also on Friday, Turkey submitted proposals to Moscow on the security of shipping in the Black Sea, but no substantive negotiations are underway, Russian news agency Interfax reported, citing Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
On Thursday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Ankara had stepped up efforts to re-establish the Black Sea grain corridor.
"We have now increased our efforts to re-establish the grain corridor. We are also accelerating our diplomatic steps for this," Erdogan told a group of Turkish journalists in New York, according to a text of his remarks shared by his office on Thursday.
This comes as both Russia and Ukraine have stepped up their attacks on shipping lanes in the Black Sea.