Turkey officially opened a joint coordination center for Ukraine’s grain exports in Istanbul on Wednesday, as part of the agreement reached with the support of the UN.
The center was opened by Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar.
The center will be staffed by civilian and military personnel from Ukraine and Russia, as well as representatives of Turkey and the UN.
Their main task will be to monitor that Ukrainian ships with grain cargoes move safely along the designated routes, as well as to monitor inspections to ensure that prohibited weapons are not being carried on ships to and from the Black Sea.
“The staff of this center are aware that the eyes of the world are upon them,” Akar said in his opening remarks. “We hope that the center’s contribution to humanitarian needs and peace will be as large as possible.”
As the Turkish minister pointed out, Ukraine and Russia provide a third of the world’s wheat.
Kyiv officials expressed hope on Monday that the first ships with grain will be able to leave Ukrainian ports this week.
The suspension of supplies from the two major grain exporting countries – Ukraine and Russia – is one of the factors behind the price increase, which has made food imports in the world’s poorest countries almost unaffordably expensive.
Wheat prices fell sharply in the hours after Friday’s deal was signed.
However, Russia fired missiles at the port of Odesa again on Saturday, which raised concerns about the prospects for the implementation of the agreement.
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