kyiv and Moscow signed two identical but separate texts, at the request of Ukraine, which refused to initial any document with Russia.

The four delegations met in the grounds of Dolmabahçe Palace, on the Bosphorus in Istanbul, in the presence of United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as well as Turkish and Russian Ministers of Defense and Ukrainian Minister of Infrastructure.

The ceremony took place under the flags of the protagonists, those of Russia and Ukraine carefully separated by the blue banners of the UN and red of Turkey, which has offered itself as a mediator since the start of the invasion. Russian, February 24.

This agreement, fiercely negotiated since April under the leadership of Mr. Guterres, who arrived urgently in Istanbul on Thursday evening, will relieve the countries dependent on the Russian and Ukrainian markets - 30% of the world wheat trade between them.

The head of the UN thanked Russia and Ukraine who "overcame their differences to make way for an initiative at the service of all".

Now the agreement "must be fully implemented", he pleaded.

Mr. Erdogan acknowledged that it had "not been easy" to get there, and hoped that the signing of this agreement, which comes almost five months after the start of the conflict, would "strengthen the hope of end this war.

According to the World Food Program (WFP), 47 million additional people have been exposed to "acute hunger" since the start of the war.

"Unprecedented"

A few hours before the ceremony, Ukraine clarified that it would not sign "any document with Russia", but only with Turkey and the UN.

The Russians have initialed an identical agreement with these two parties.

Mr. Guterres, however, noted the “unprecedented” nature of this agreement concluded between two countries at war.

Under the terms of this agreement, "secure corridors" will allow the movement of merchant ships in the Black Sea, which "both parties have undertaken not to attack", said a United Nations official who requested anonymity.

The negotiators gave up on clearing the Black Sea of ​​mines - mainly laid by the Ukrainians to protect their coasts: "Clearing mines would have taken too long", justified the UN, which specified that "Ukrainian pilots" would clear the way for the cargo ships in territorial waters.

Ukraine has suggested that its exports start from three ports - Odessa, Pivdenny and Chornomorsk - and hopes to increase their number in the future.

The agreement will be valid for "120 days", or four months, the time to get out the approximately 25 million tonnes piled up in silos in Ukraine as a new harvest approaches.

A Joint Coordination Center (JCC) is to be established this weekend in Istanbul with representatives from all parties and the United Nations.

Inspections of ships departing from and heading to Ukrainian ports will take place under the supervision of the CCC, in one of the ports of Istanbul, in order to meet the concerns of Moscow, which wants to be sure that the cargo ships will not bring arms to Ukraine.

"Immediate response"

A first round of negotiations between military experts from the three countries concerned and the UN took place on July 13 in Istanbul, from which a certain optimism emerged.

Then uncertainty prevailed after demands made by Moscow at the end of the Iran-Russia-Turkey tripartite summit on Tuesday in Tehran.

A combine harvester in a wheat field near Mykolaiv in Ukraine on July 21, 2022 Ionut Iordachescu AFP

Russia has finally obtained guarantees that Western sanctions will not apply, either directly or indirectly, to its own exports of agricultural products and fertilizers.

“Even if Russian (agricultural) products are not affected by the sanctions, there are blockages concerning maritime transport, insurance and the banking system,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu explained on Thursday.

In addition, said a diplomat in New York, the United States has offered "guarantees" so that large tonnage ships will be provided to Russia to facilitate the export of its grain and fertilizers.

Due to the sanctions, international logistics companies that own such buildings are reluctant to work for Moscow.

The United States had welcomed the agreement on Thursday and warned that they held "Russia responsible for (its) implementation".

But mistrust remains in kyiv: "No Russian escort and no Russian presence in our ports. In case of provocation, immediate military response", tweeted Friday Mikhaïlo Podoliak, adviser to the Ukrainian presidency.

© 2022 AFP