Istanbul: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed on Saturday, October 31, to work on the Black Sea grain corridor so that, in Zelenskyy's words, 'the corridor exists and is effective', at a joint press conference at the Presidential Dolmabahce Office in Istanbul, AzerNews and UNN reported. The meeting is the one announced on Friday, when Zelenskyy said he would hold 'important' talks in Turkey and Erdogan's communications director confirmed the Saturday Istanbul meeting.

Source: AzerNews

Erdogan said the war in Ukraine and the situation in the Black Sea were 'thoroughly discussed', stressed that strikes on civilian vessels in the Black Sea 'will benefit no one' and called attacks on civilian ships unacceptable whoever carries them out, Clash Report reported from the joint press conference. He said Turkey is ready to take the necessary steps to mediate between Russia and Ukraine and will continue contacts with all parties, including Russia. Zelenskyy said: 'Turkey consistently supports our sovereignty, our territorial integrity, and our steps that can ensure safe navigation in the Black Sea and restore normal living conditions in the Black Sea region.' No mechanism, timeline or guarantees for a corridor were announced, and Ukrainian reporting noted this does not mean a new deal with Russia has been reached.

Source: Clash Report

Rubio in Atlanta: a limited ceasefire is on the table, a settlement is not

At the close of the G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Atlanta the same day, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there was growing interest in facilitating a limited ceasefire in the Black Sea to ensure unfettered energy and grain shipments by Russia and Ukraine, and that the United States is reviewing proposals by Turkey and India to get grain shipments moving, Reuters reported. 'This is threatening the world for food security and some energy security as well,' Rubio said. 'We'd like to achieve it. It doesn't solve the war, but at least it solves a unique aspect of it.' Nation Press, reporting the same closing press conference, said Rubio identified India and Turkey as countries contributing constructive ideas on Black Sea shipments and cautioned against reading the interest as a sign that a formal agreement is imminent.

Source: Reuters via Duke FM

Rubio was equally blunt about the wider war: 'I don't know if negotiated peace is achievable in Ukraine, that's what we're trying to find out,' he told reporters, adding, 'I don't think anyone here is claiming that we're on the verge of a negotiated settlement.' His Black Sea remarks follow Friday's call at the same G20 meeting by Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski for a rapid Black Sea ceasefire so grain ships can sail — a call no government had publicly answered at the time.

Source: Kyiv Independent via EuropeSays

Trilateral talks proposed for Turkey in the first half of November

Zelenskyy said Kyiv is preparing for trilateral talks with the United States and Russia in the first half of November, proposed that such a meeting could be held in Turkey, and suggested involving European partners in the format, UNN reported. Turkey is awaiting replies from Moscow and Kyiv to its own proposal to stop attacks on civilian vessels and secure grain shipments, Reuters reported via Clash Report. Ankara had already called in August for a moratorium on strikes against vessels after several incidents involving Turkish-flagged ships, as attacks by both Russia and Ukraine in the Black Sea have intensified in recent months. Zelenskyy told Bloomberg on October 23 that since Russian strikes intensified in August, Ukraine's grain export capacity has fallen to 38 per cent of normal and port shipments have essentially stopped.

Source: UNN via EuropeSays

What happens next: the corridor and the limited ceasefire both still need Russia's answer — none was announced on Saturday — and the proposed November trilateral has no confirmed date, venue or delegations. What changed on Saturday is that the idea moved in one day from a Polish minister's call at the G20 to a stated US review of Turkish and Indian proposals, alongside a Ukrainian-Turkish agreement in Istanbul to work on the corridor itself.