According to Turkey, after long negotiations there should be an agreement that will enable the export of grain from Ukraine and Russia. The agreement should therefore already be signed on Friday. Exports via secured corridors should be made possible.
According to Turkey, Ukraine and Russia want to sign an agreement on the export of grain and other agricultural goods on Friday. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and UN Secretary-General António Guterres are expected to be present at the signing in Istanbul, according to the Turkish Presidential Office. The agreement therefore affects both Ukrainian and Russian grain exports.
According to a spokesman for the UN in New York, the agreement has not yet been fully negotiated. "We can solve this problem and potentially save hundreds of thousands, possibly millions of people from the price of food being out of their reach," the spokesman said.
According to diplomats, the export of goods blocked in Ukraine via secured corridors in the Black Sea should be made possible by local ceasefires. Turkey should therefore inspect the ships to prevent the transport of weapons. A coordination center with UN specialists could be set up in Istanbul, it said. The strait running through Istanbul, over which Turkey has sovereignty, is the only sea route from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean Sea.
The agreement should also make it easier for Russian grain and fertilizer to be exported. Grain exports from Russia are not subject to direct sanctions, but are made more difficult by sanctions against transport companies, insurance companies and banks. At a summit meeting in Tehran, Russia's President Vladimir Putin called for relief for Russian grain exports in return for the export of Ukrainian grain.
The US government welcomed the announcement but stressed that Moscow was responsible for the underlying problem. "It was a conscious decision by Russia to use food as a weapon," State Department spokesman Ned Price said. Russia must now be held "responsible for the implementation of this agreement" so that Ukrainian grain can reach world markets again. Above all, Price praised the commitment of UN chief Guterres and "the diligent work of our Turkish allies". The US government has been kept up to date on the details of the grain deal, which has been negotiated for over two months.
According to information from diplomatic circles, Washington is ready to provide guarantees so that transport companies can provide Russia with large cargo ships. Russia had previously complained that it could not use sufficiently large ships because of the sanctions.
Guterres is already expected in Istanbul. He had vacationed in the region and agreed to be present at the signing of such an agreement. According to diplomats, the agreement was supposed to be signed on Wednesday, but was then postponed.
Between 20 and 25 million tons of grain are currently blocked in Ukraine. Before the Russian invasion, Ukraine was the world's fourth largest exporter of wheat and corn. The Russian war of aggression and its aftermath have pushed up grain and oil prices. In addition, famines are feared in several countries that depend on grain imports.
