UN Secretary-General Guterres: we have taken an important step forward on unblocking Ukrainian grain exports

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday, following a meeting of military delegations from Turkey, Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul, that a “significant step forward” had been taken on unblocking Ukraine’s grain exports across the Black Sea. Talks will continue next week.

– It is hoped that the next steps will allow us to reach a formal agreement, Guterres added, but caveated that technical work was still needed to materialise the progress achieved during Wednesday’s negotiations.

Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar explained in a communiqué that the agreement reached in Istanbul was an agreement to set up a coordination centre to guarantee safe grain transport routes.

The parties to the agreement agreed to jointly patrol the bays and inspect the grain, and the formal agreement will be signed next week when the delegations meet again, Akar’s communiqué states.

Ukraine is one of the world’s largest exporters of grain, transported mainly by sea. Millions of tonnes of grain are currently stored in ports on the Black Sea coast, blockaded by Russian ships.

source: PortalMorski.pl