Turkey announces agreement on Ukraine grain crisis
Turkey announced an agreement with Ukraine, Russia and the United Nations aimed at resuming Ukrainian grain exports suspended by Russia, raising the prospects of ending a crisis that has put millions at risk of starvation.
Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said the agreement would be signed when the two sides meet again next week and would include joint controls for checking grain at ports and that Turkey would guarantee the safety of Ukraine's grain export corridors across the Black Sea.
He added that Turkey would also set up a coordination center with Ukraine, Russia and the United Nations on grain exports.
Earlier, Ukraine said the agreement was "only two steps away", while Turkey hosts the four-way talks in Istanbul.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said an "important and fundamental step" had been taken towards resuming Ukraine's grain exports but cautioned that "more technical work is needed now to reflect the progress made today".
"Hopefully, next week, we can reach a final agreement," Guterres told reporters in New York. "But as I said we still need a lot of goodwill and commitment from all parties."
He added that despite the diplomatic contacts between Ukraine and Russia, "we still have a long way to go for peace."
There was no immediate comment from Ukraine or Russia, both of which are among the world's largest grain exporters.
Russia's Interfax news agency quoted Pyotr Ilyichev, head of the International Organizations Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, as saying that Russia wanted to control and inspect the ships to rule out smuggling.
Meanwhile, several Ukrainian cities reported heavy Russian bombing, and although the grain agreement was not linked to progress in talks to end the war, Kuleba was pessimistic about peace prospects.
More than 20 million tons of Ukrainian grain remains stuck in silos in the Black Sea port of Odessa and dozens of ships are stranded due to the Russian blockade and Ukrainian naval mines.
The talks in Istanbul between Ukrainian, Russian, Turkish and UN officials took place behind closed doors at an undisclosed location.
Igor Konashenkov, a spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry, said that Moscow had made proposals to solve the grain issue as soon as possible.
Diplomats earlier said details of the plan under discussion in Wednesday's talks included the idea of Ukrainian ships guiding grain ships in and out of mined port waters, and that Russia would agree to a truce while cargoes were moved while Turkey, backed by the United Nations, searched the ships to allay Russia's concerns about arms smuggling.
Turkey published a photo of the meeting in which the Russian and Ukrainian delegations appear sitting in front of each other, with frowns evident on the faces of their members.
Ukraine and Russia are among the most important suppliers of wheat in the world.
Russia is also a major exporter of fertilizers and Ukraine is an important producer of corn and sunflower oil, so a deal to end export bans is vital to food security, especially among developing countries, and to market stability.
Follow our latest local and sports news and the latest political and economic developments via Google news