Ukraine and Russia to sign agreement on safe grain transports

On Friday, 22 July, Ukraine and Russia will sign an agreement in Turkey on the safe transports of grain in the Black Sea region, as confirmed by the Turkish President’s Office.
«The grain export agreement, critically important for global food security, will be signed in Istanbul tomorrow under the auspices of President Erdoğan and UN Secretary General Mr. Guterres together with Ukrainian and Russian delegations,» the Turkish President’s Office reported.
An initial plan to overcome the dead end was composed at the last meeting of delegations of the two warring sides last week. This meeting was also attended by Turkish and UN officials.

Russia commenced a full-scale war against Ukraine in February and has since captured multiple Black Sea ports and has bombarded other ports with artillery. This includes Ukraine’s main grain export port of Odessa.

Ukraine previously set up mines around some of its ports to defend against Russian attacks.
Ukraine’s agricultural sector is an important source of grain on global markets, especially the Middle East and Africa, where the situation with food supplies is especially dire.
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