Turkish authorities announced that a deal has been reached with Russian officials to resume Ukrainian grain exports through the Black Sea despite the ongoing war between the European countries.
The agreement is set to be signed on Friday in Istanbul by Ukraine, Russia, Turkey, and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. The blocking of Ukrainian ports has resulted in a global shortage of Ukrainian grain, leaving millions at risk of hunger and starvation.
Ukrainian Grain Exports
The invasion of Ukraine, which began on Feb. 24, sent food prices soaring, so the recently announced deal is crucial to many regions. There are roughly 20 million tons of grain that are stuck in silos in Odesa.
In a statement, Ukraine's foreign ministry confirmed that another UN-led round of talks to unblock grain exports would take place in Turkey on Friday. They added that a document "may be signed" during the discussions.
However, one Ukrainian MP close to the talks voiced caution over the deal, arguing that there is no agreement yet. Odesa MP Oleksiy Honcharenko said that they did not "trust Russians" at all and were discussing a final decision, as per BBC.
On the other hand, the U.S. State Department welcomed the UN-brokered deal but noted that it was focusing on holding Russia accountable for implementing it. Spokesman Ned Price said, "We should never have been in this position in the first place. This was a deliberate decision on the part of the Russian Federation to weaponize food."
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Diplomats revealed parts of the plan, which include Ukrainian vessels guiding grain ships in and out through mined port waters; Russia agreeing to a truce while shipments move; and Turkey inspecting ships to allay Russian fears of weapons smuggling.
According to Reuters, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky did not confirm the agreement, he previously hinted that his nation's Black Sea ports could soon be unblocked. The official also said that they were expecting news for the state from Turkey by tomorrow regarding the unblocking of ports.
Negotiations Between Parties
The situation comes as Moscow continues to deny responsibility for worsening the food crisis worldwide, instead shifting the blame to the effects of Western sanctions for slowing its own food and fertilizer exports and Ukraine for mining its Black Sea ports.
The United Nations and Turkey have been working to broker the deal for two months, with Guterres calling it a "package" deal. It would resume Ukraine's Black Sea grain exports and facilitate Russian grain and fertilizer shipments.
On Thursday, Russia said that the latest round of European Union sanctions would have "devastating consequences" for security and parts of the global economy. In a statement, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said that the 27-nation bloc proposed to ease some earlier sanctions in an attempt to safeguard global food security.
Furthermore, Moscow's deputy foreign minister, Andrei Rudenko, noted on Thursday that negotiations were proceeding "quite dynamically, and the parties are participating in them constructively." He added that he was hoping they would reach a consensus in the near future, the New York Times reported.
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