China News Service, August 19th. According to a comprehensive report, on the 18th local time, UN Secretary-General António Guterres met with the country's President Zelensky in the western city of Lviv, Ukraine.
Afterwards, the two held trilateral talks with visiting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, discussing the situation in Russia and Ukraine, grain transportation in the Black Sea, and the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant.
Data map: On April 19, local time, UN Secretary-General Guterres held a press conference in front of the "Knotted Pistol" sculpture at the UN headquarters in New York.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Liao Pan
In less than a month after the landmark Black Sea Grains Initiative was signed in Istanbul, 21 ships have left Ukrainian ports full of grains, Guterres said after the talks, according to the UN website. Fifteen ships have departed from Istanbul for Ukraine to load grain and other food items.
The global food market is also beginning to show signs of stabilization.
The FAO food price index fell 9 percent in July, the biggest drop since 2008.
But Guterres also pointed out that there are still problems with the current supply chain, energy and transportation costs.
He also stressed the fragility of the agreement in the conflict, and called on all parties to keep "guarding" it.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted on social media on the 18th that he and UN Secretary-General António Guterres discussed the possible direction of the development of food transportation and the release of captured Ukrainian soldiers and doctors.
Zelensky also said the two sides had reached an agreement on a possible IAEA visit to the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant.
He believes that Russia should immediately withdraw its troops from the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant and at the same time stop all military activities in the region.
Recently, Russia and Ukraine have repeatedly accused each other of conducting military activities in the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant area.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zakharova said in a live broadcast on the 18th that Ukraine is not only using the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant to initiate provocations, but also nuclear blackmail.
FILE PHOTO: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Sheng Jiapeng
According to Reuters, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on the same day that he discussed possible ways to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine during three-way talks.
"We are willing to act as mediators in order to restore the goal of negotiations," he said. "It is important to find the shortest and fairest path to the negotiating table."
Erdogan also mentioned that they discussed the exchange of prisoners between Ukraine and Russia, saying he would raise the issue with Russian President Vladimir Putin later.