Situation around the ship detained in Turkey will indicate how the country will handle with grain looted from Ukraine - expert

Director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies Ihor Semyvolos made a statement on Espreso.

"It is rather an attempt to make money. In this sense, the Turks do not deviate from their ideas about life, they do this, if they can make money in this way, they will make money. Another thing is that Erdogan, faced with the need for solidarity with his position, in particular, not to  prevent him from fighting with Syria. He needs solidarity, and therefore he himself should pay more attention to the facts of unscrupulous behavior of his citizens and companies," he said.

The expert added that Turkey claimed that all this was happening without its knowledge.

"I understand that this is rather an attempt to play a good game against a bad game. The main indicator of how Turkey will behave in the future will be the story with this dry cargo, with the stolen Ukrainian grain from the port of Berdyansk and the decision that will be taken by the authorities. A precedent will be created and based on it, it will be possible to demand treatment of other cargoes with stolen Ukrainian grain," Semyvolos added.

He emphasized that Turkey can make a political decision to arrest the vessels.

"If they leave Crimea, we know that the Turks turned a blind eye to this. If there is a precedent, then we can talk about a tougher position on this wheat. In general, Turkey is interested in being the savior of the Middle East and is building a whole structure that, in his opinion, will allow it to gradually unblock Odesa. This is a complex and serious operation," the expert concluded.