Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres attend the signing ceremony AA Images
ISTANBUL, TÜRKIYE - JULY 22: Ukraine and Russia on Friday (July 22) signed separate agreements with Turkey and the United Nations to resume Ukraine’s Black Sea grain exports— as well as Russian grain and fertilizer, avoiding sitting at the same table and avoiding shaking hands.
The Russian and Ukrainian Ministers did not sit at table at the same time to sign the deal.
Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu signed separate deals with U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres and Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar during the Signature Ceremony of Initiative on the Safe Transportation of Grain and Foodstuffs Ukrainian Ports Document at the Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul that was witnessed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The deal will enable Ukraine to export 22 million tons of grain and other agricultural products that have been stuck in Black Sea ports due to the war.
The deal came after a general agreement reached between the parties on a UN-led plan during talks in Istanbul on July 13 to form a coordination center to carry out joint inspections at the entrance and exit of the harbors, and to ensure the safety of the routes.
Internationally praised for its mediator role, Türkiye has coordinated with Moscow and Kyiv to open a corridor from the Ukrainian port city of Odesa to resume global grain shipments which are stuck due to the Russia-Ukraine war, now in its fifth month.
AA/Istanbul
