In A Deal Mediated By Turkey And U.N, Blockaded Ukraine Ports To Be Reopened To Resume Export Of 18 Million Of Tonnes Of Food Grains

Ukraine and Russia will sign a deal on Friday in Istanbul to resume grain exports from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports, Turkey has announced.

Mediated by the U.N. and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s president, the agreement will pave the way for an end to Russia’s blockade of Ukraine’s ports and facilitate the export of 18 million tonnes of Ukrainian grain awaiting export. Russia’s blockade of Ukraine’s ports has resulted in global food prices surging to record levels.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is already in Istanbul as part of the efforts to finalise a deal to secure the Ukraine grain deal.

The deal is said to have been finalised after the meeting between Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Tehran earlier this week.

Russia and Ukraine account for nearly a third of global wheat supplies. Russia also exports fertiliser, while Ukraine exports corn and sunflower oil. But Ukrainian grain shipments from its Black Sea ports have stalled since the war with Russia commenced, with some 20 million tons of grain stuck. While Russia has blockaded Odesa and other Black Sea ports, Ukraine has also taken measures to prevent an amphibious invasion.

Last week, Turkey said there is a consensus over establishing an operations centre in Istanbul that will monitor the implementation of a potential sea corridor in the Black Sea to export grain from Ukraine. Russia sought a monitoring mechanism as it feared that ships would be used as a conduit for smuggling weapons.