UK's Truss: Ukraine grain crisis must be solved in the next month

ANKARA (Reuters) -The crisis around grain trapped in Ukraine must be resolved in the next month, British foreign minister Liz Truss said on Thursday during a visit to Ankara when she offered Britain's expertise to help resolve the situation.

"We are very clear that this grain crisis is urgent, that it needs to be solved within the next month otherwise we could see devastating consequences," Truss told a news conference alongside Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.

"It's very clear that Ukrainian ports must be protected, there needs to be safe passage for commercial vessels. The United Kingdom is offering our expertise on all of those fronts to make sure that we have measures in place so that grain can safely leave, but it is going to require an international effort."

(Reporting by Muvija M in London, writing by William James, editing by Elizabeth Piper and James Davey)