Turkey announces 'basic' agreement with Russia, Ukraine & UN to export grain via Black Sea

In a breakthrough towards resolving the looming food insecurity threats, Turkey, Ukraine, and Russia in coordination with the UN have agreed to set up a 4-member center for the resumption of grain exports via the Black Sea. Officials of the respective countries said that they have decided to establish the facility in Istanbul and added that both warring parties reached a consensus on a system of joint control over the grain at seaports.

"A “basic, technical” agreement has been reached between Ukraine and Russia to move crucial grain exports out of blockaded Black Sea port. Participants in the four-way meeting agreed to establish a coordination center in Istanbul on Ukrainian grain export," Anadolu Agency quoted Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar as saying. The deal will be signed next week as all parties are set to meet again next week.

Dubbing the meeting "positive and constructive," Akar added that the important step would contribute towards looking for a solution to the imminent global food crisis and "all details regarding the safe shipment of grain and other food-loaded flotillas by the sea." Giving minutes of the much-awaited meeting, the Turkish minister said that the participating officials also found a common ground concerning navigational safety on transfer routes and mutual control over entry and exit points. "We see that the parties are willing to sort this problem out...we will try to reach a conclusion by carrying out this plan in coordination with the UN," he informed, as reported by Anadolu News Agency.

The substantive step came after months of Russian blockade of the Black Sea ports of Ukraine, leading to severe food shortages in vulnerable nations of the world as both Ukraine and Russia are two major global contributors of food grains. Over 22 million tonnes of grain are reportedly stuck in Ukrainian silos along the coasts. Owing to Russians besieging the exit route from ports, Kyiv on multiple occasions accused Moscow of stealing from the grain-laden silos and illegally transferring them via Turkey.

UN chief calls Ukraine grain exports 'ray of hope' to mitigate hunger threats

Following the deal reached in the 4-way negotiations in Turkey, the UN Secretary-general Antonio Guterres on Wednesday said it was a "ray of hope" amid rising global hunger threats that emerged from blocked grain exports. "Today, in Istanbul, we have seen a major step forward to ensure the export of Ukrainian food products through the Black Sea," he wrote in a Twitter post. Although the parties are yet to sign a formal agreement, Guterres praised Ankara for its notable role in mediating talks as the ferocious war raged beyond 140 days.

Russia accuses Ukraine of trying to set crop fields in Kherson on fire

Russia on Wednesday accused Ukraine of carrying out attacks on the occupied Kherson by setting crop fields along the border on fire. According to the TASS report, the Moscow-appointed head of military-civilian administration, Kirill Stremousov, claimed that Kyiv was trying to set ablaze the wheat fields in a sign of "provocation" as the occupied region was defending itself from what he described as "collective West, namely America." He also went on to accuse Ukraine of trying to develop conditions for Kharkiv where people would find themselves "on the frontlines."

(Image: AP)