Turkey Says Ukraine Grain Export Deal To Be Inked In Istanbul

According to Turkish authorities, a pact to unblock Ukrainian grain exports during the war and allow Russia to export grain and fertilizers will be inked Friday, July 22, 2022, in Istanbul, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

Photo Insert: Secretary-General António Guterres (left) and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the signing ceremony of Black Sea Grain Initiative in Istanbul, Türkiye

The signing ceremony will be overseen by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, and officials from Russia and Ukraine, according to Erdogan's office. It didn't go into any greater information.

"The grain export agreement, critically important for global food security, will be signed in Istanbul tomorrow under the auspices of President Erdogan and U.N. Secretary General Mr. Guterres together with Ukrainian and Russian delegations," Erdogan spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said in a tweet.

Guterres has been working on a plan that would allow Ukraine to ship millions of tons of grain that has been stranded in its Black Sea ports, potentially alleviating a global food crisis that has pushed wheat and other grain prices skyrocketing. Because of the fighting, at least 22 million tons of grain are trapped there.

The parties met in Istanbul last week and reached a provisional agreement on the idea.

According to Turkish officials, it calls for joint controls of ships as they depart and arrive at Black Sea ports, as well as a mechanism to assure the safety of the transfer routes. A coordination center for export shipping would be built in Istanbul, with UN, Turkish, Russian, and Ukrainian authorities participating.

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