Guterres told journalists in New York on Wednesday. The talks took place in Istanbul between representatives of the United Nations, Ukraine, Russia and Turkey. “Today we finally have a bit of hope.” Guterres initially did not share any details.
Worst famine in decades looms
But he said, “More technical work will be needed for today’s progress to materialize.” The international community has been demanding that Russia allow the export of Ukrainian grain for weeks. Ukraine complains that the Russian Navy is blockading its Black Sea ports. Russia denies blocking wheat exports. The two countries are among the largest wheat exporters and play an important role in global food security. The United Nations recently warned of the worst famine in decades.
Military delegations from Ukraine, Russia and Turkey and UN officials held an hour-and-a-half meeting in the Bosphorus metropolis on Wednesday afternoon, according to tweets from the Turkish Defense Ministry. Results were not initially announced.
Ukraine saw agreement within reach
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba already saw an agreement within reach. “We are ready to export grain to the international market,” Kuleba told the Spanish newspaper El Pais. One is “two steps” away from an agreement. Kuleba said the security concerns related to the Russian position had to be taken into account. “We are in the final stages and now everything depends on Russia.” When asked why Russia might agree to an agreement, Kuleba replied that he suspected the leadership in Moscow wanted to show countries in Africa and Asia their willingness to save them from food shortages. However, it is still conceivable that Russia will leave the talks.
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the delegation from Moscow presented “a package of proposals for the fastest possible practical solution to this issue.” On Wednesday, however, army spokesman Igor Konashenkov left open what this package should look like.
Since the start of the Russian invasion on February 24 and the blockade of Ukrainian ports, the prices of grain, cooking oil, fuel and fertilizer have risen sharply. As Ukraine is one of the world’s largest exporters of wheat, the disruption to its exports has led to a food crisis. Military delegations from Russia, Ukraine and Turkey are to discuss with UN representatives in Istanbul how safe exports of Ukrainian grain from the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Odessa can be facilitated.
Russia has accused Ukraine of preventing an agreement. According to diplomats, escort ships are being discussed to guide the grain ships through the mined waters around the port of Odessa. Turkey is also said to be inspecting the cargo ships with UN support to allay Russian concerns that arms could be smuggled into Ukraine this way. More than 20 million grains are stored in the silos in Odessa. Not only is it missing from the global market, but it is also jeopardizing the upcoming harvest as Ukraine runs out of storage space.
Source: Nachrichten
