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Two sides reached agreement Friday that would allow Ukraine to resume its grain exports and for Russia to ship grain and fertilizer to global markets
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A Ukrainian official signed the accord with Turkey and his Russian counterpart with the United Nations
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UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Ukraine will ship the grain from Odesa, Chornomorsk and Pivdennyi. Turkish President Erdogan said shipments will resume in coming days
Russia and Ukraine reached on July 22 a deal aimed at releasing millions of tons of grain through Ukraine’s Black Sea ports that United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called “a beacon of hope” in a world threatened by shortage of food supplies.
Ukrainian and Russian officials signed the “unprecedented” agreement with Turkey and the UN in a meeting in Istanbul worked out by Guterres and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
“Today, there is a beacon on the Black Sea. A beacon of hope, a beacon of possibility, a beacon of relief – in a world that needs it more than ever,” Guterres said in his remarks at the signing of the Black Sea Grain Initiative agreement.
Guterres said the accord involves shipments from three Ukrainian ports: Odesa, Chornomorsk and Pivdennyi. He said the deal also paves the way for Russia to ship grain and fertilizer to global markets, helping to stabilize spiralling food prices and stave off famine that is affecting millions.
Grain ship traffic should begin in the coming days, Bloomberg quoted President Erdogan as saying. The Turkish leader hosted the meeting, as well as earlier diplomatic talks between Russia and Ukraine in a bid to end the war.
Just a week earlier, heads of the Food and Agriculture Organization, International Monetary Fund, World Bank Group, World Food Programme and the World Trade Organization called for urgent action to address the global food security crisis, saying the lives and livelihoods of 345 million people in 82 countries are at risk.
Barring any last-minute hitches, the agreement would enable Ukraine to ship out an estimated 20 million tons of wheat and corn stored in silos at Ukrainian ports since the Russian invasion of its Eastern European neighbor on February 24.
Russia has been accused by western countries supporting Ukraine as “weaponizing” food by blocking Ukraine’s grain and other food exports in retaliation for economic sanctions imposed by the West for Moscow’s war of aggression now on its sixth month.
Doubts have been aired, however, about how much Ukrainian grain remains in silos at Ukrainian ports in Russian-held cities in southern Ukraine amid reports of alleged Russian theft and smuggling the staple to Syria and possibly other countries.
Bloomberg reported that the July 22 Black Sea Grain Initiative deal could help revive agricultural trade from Ukraine, one of the world’s biggest wheat, corn and vegetable-oil exporters.
But the news agency said many logistical hurdles remain and it’s uncertain how quickly exports will progress with Russia’s war still raging.
Officials have been working to reach a deal for months and tensions were evident during the signing – the Ukrainian and Russian representatives didn’t join Erdogan and Guterres at the head table during the opening remarks, and signed separate agreements with Turkey and the UN.
Guterres thanked President Erdogan and his government for facilitating the talks to resume grain exports. He commended the Russian and Ukrainian representatives for putting aside their differences in the common interests of humanity.
“The question has not been what is good for one side or the other. The focus has been on what matters most for the people of our world,” Guterres said.
The Secretary-General also announced the establishment of a Joint Coordination Centre to monitor implementation.
