Ukraine has submitted to Türkiye a proposal to reopen the grain corridor without Russia, but no response has been received yet, Ukrainian Ambassador to Türkiye Vasyl Bodnar said at a press conference on Thursday.

"The proposal to work [the grain corridor] without Russia was transferred to the Turkish side. There is no final confirmation yet. But since the ships [with grain] are already sailing through the territorial waters of Romania, Bulgaria, and Türkiye and are passing straits without restrictions, this is actually a rational way," the diplomat said.

He recalled that within the framework of the Grain Initiative there were quite frequent cases when the aggressor country restricted the passage of ships to Ukraine or tried to regulate access to a particular Ukrainian port. In addition, the list of products that could be exported from the territory of Ukraine was limited.

According to Bodnar, since there are no export restrictions on Ukrainian products for ships that pass through this humanitarian corridor, such an alternative may be one of the main options for resolving the situation.

At present, communication efforts between Türkiye and the UN continues after negotiations with both Ukraine and Russia to develop agreed positions. The participants in the negotiation process expect "communication between Ukraine and Türkiye at the highest level." According to the ambassador, they may take place in the coming days or within the framework of the UN General Assembly.

"Of course, we take a constructive position in relation to our partners Türkiye and the UN and mediators and will develop mechanisms that will be beneficial to our side, but will not damage the principled position on lifting sanctions against Russia – this is an absolutely false path," Bodnar said.