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First Turkish Grain Ship Leaves Mariupol Port

Azov Concord became the first foreign ship to leave the port with a grain shipment, after being stuck there for days. AP
Azov Concord became the first foreign ship to leave the port with a grain shipment, after being stuck there for days. AP
    Berlin - Ankara - Raghida Bahnam and Saeed Abdulrazek
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First Turkish Grain Ship Leaves Mariupol Port

Azov Concord became the first foreign ship to leave the port with a grain shipment, after being stuck there for days. AP
Azov Concord became the first foreign ship to leave the port with a grain shipment, after being stuck there for days. AP

The Turkish dry cargo ship, Azov Concord, left on Wednesday Ukraine’s Russian-occupied port of Mariupol following a round of talks between Turkey and Russia in Moscow.

Azov Concord became the first foreign ship to leave the port with a grain shipment, after being stuck there for days.

This came following a meeting between military delegations of Turkey and Russia in Moscow as part of the “red line diplomacy” carried out between the two sides for the departure of grain ships from Ukraine.

The meeting was held in a positive atmosphere and has already given the first results, Anadolu Agency reported.

The two delegations reached an understanding to hold a meeting in the next 10 days between the delegations of Turkey, Russia, Ukraine and the United Nations, possibly with the participation of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, to solve the food crisis and evacuate grain-laden ships waiting in Ukrainian ports.

They also discussed the safe passage of Turkish-owned planes from Borispol Airport to Turkey.

Turkish sources told a local newspaper that the plan envisaged creating three corridors from Ukraine’s Black Sea port city of Odessa under Kyiv’s supervision, and that both Ukrainian and Russian food products would be shipped from there.

They said 30 million-35 million tons of grain could be shipped from the port in the next six to eight months.

Meanwhile, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Wednesday that Ukraine and Russia are a long way from ending the war through negotiations.

“The truth is, we are far from negotiations between Ukraine and Russia. Because Putin still believes in the possibility of a dictated peace,” Scholz said in an address to German lawmakers.

The Chancellor also called on backers of Ukraine to stay firmly on course with their sanctions, with internationally coordinated arms deliveries and with their financial support.

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Taiwan Detects 41 Chinese Military Aircraft, Ships ahead of Lai US Stopover

FILE -In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, a J-15 Chinese fighter jet prepares to take off from the Shandong aircraft carrier during the combat readiness patrol and military exercises around the Taiwan Island by the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) on Sunday, April 9, 2023. (An Ni/Xinhua via AP, File)
FILE -In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, a J-15 Chinese fighter jet prepares to take off from the Shandong aircraft carrier during the combat readiness patrol and military exercises around the Taiwan Island by the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) on Sunday, April 9, 2023. (An Ni/Xinhua via AP, File)
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Taiwan Detects 41 Chinese Military Aircraft, Ships ahead of Lai US Stopover

FILE -In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, a J-15 Chinese fighter jet prepares to take off from the Shandong aircraft carrier during the combat readiness patrol and military exercises around the Taiwan Island by the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) on Sunday, April 9, 2023. (An Ni/Xinhua via AP, File)
FILE -In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, a J-15 Chinese fighter jet prepares to take off from the Shandong aircraft carrier during the combat readiness patrol and military exercises around the Taiwan Island by the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) on Sunday, April 9, 2023. (An Ni/Xinhua via AP, File)

Taiwan said Friday it detected 41 Chinese military aircraft and ships around the island ahead of a Hawaii stopover by President Lai Ching-te, part of a Pacific tour that has sparked fury in Beijing.
Beijing insists self-ruled Taiwan is part of its territory and opposes any international recognition of the island and its claim to be a sovereign nation.
To press its claims, China deploys fighter jets, drones and warships around Taiwan on a near-daily basis, with the number of sorties increasing in recent years.
In the 24 hours to 6:00 am on Friday (2200 GMT Thursday), Taiwan's defense ministry said it had detected 33 Chinese aircraft and eight navy vessels in its airspace and waters.
That included 19 aircraft that took part in China's "joint combat readiness patrol" on Thursday evening and was the highest number in more than three weeks, according to an AFP tally of figures released daily by the ministry.
Taiwan also spotted a balloon -- the fourth since Sunday -- about 172 kilometres (107 miles) west of the island.
"It can't be ruled out that there will be a relatively large-scale military exercise in response to Lai's visit," Su Tzu-yun, a military expert at Taiwan's Institute for National Defense and Security Research, told AFP.
'Old friends'
Lai, an outspoken defender of Taiwan's sovereignty and whom China calls a "separatist", departs Saturday on his first overseas trip since taking office in May.
He will stop briefly in Hawaii and the US territory of Guam to meet "old friends", as he visits Taiwan's three remaining allies in the Pacific.
Taiwanese government officials have previously stopped over on US soil during visits to the Pacific or Latin America, angering China, which has sometimes responded with military drills around the island.
China has reacted furiously to Lai's planned trip, with a spokesperson for the defense ministry vowing Thursday to "resolutely crush" any attempts for Taiwan independence.
Asked whether China's military would take countermeasures over Lai's Pacific tour, Wu Qian said: "We firmly oppose official interaction with China's Taiwan region in any form."
China has staged two large-scale military drills around Taiwan since Lai took office and verbally attacked him at every turn over his statements and speeches.
Lin Ying-yu, a military expert at Tamkang University, said China's response would be determined by Lai's remarks during the trip.
"China may carry out military exercises, but they may not be large ones. It will depend on what President Lai says," Lin told AFP, adding the current weather was "not very good" for drills.
'Legitimacy'
The South Pacific was once seen as a bastion of support for Taiwan's claim to statehood, but China has methodically whittled this down.
In the past five years, Solomon Islands, Kiribati and Nauru have all been persuaded to switch diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing.
The Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and Palau are now the only Pacific island nations among Taiwan's 12 remaining diplomatic allies.
Beijing's efforts to woo Taiwan's allies and expand its influence in the region have alarmed the United States, Australia and New Zealand.
Switching recognition to China "opened the door to much deeper engagement between Beijing and those countries," said Mark Harrison, a senior lecturer in Chinese studies at the University of Tasmania.
Lai's trip was a rare opportunity for the president to represent Taiwan abroad and bolster its claim to statehood.
"Even though they kind of look theatrical and performative, (these trips) actually give Taiwan a genuine voice in the international system," Harrision told AFP.
"They confer legitimacy, they confer the appearance of sovereignty and, with the international system as it is, the appearance of sovereignty is also sovereignty."