Ukraine and Russia have signed an agreement on the export of grain – VG

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According to Reuters, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and a Ukrainian delegation will be in Istanbul to sign the agreement.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and UN Secretary-General António Guterres are also present. Turkey has helped to negotiate the agreement.

The aim is to open grain exports in the Black Sea for the first time since the start of the war.

On Friday afternoon, Ukraine and Russia signed an agreement on the export of grain, according to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Just before 2 p.m., it became clear that Ukraine and Russia will each sign an agreement with the UN and Turkey.

– Ukraine does not sign any documents with Russia. We will sign an agreement with Turkey and the UN, tweeted Mykhailo Podoljak, who is an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

According to Podoljak, Russia must also sign a separate agreement – which reflects the one signed by Ukraine.

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According to NTB, which refers to the draft agreement, Turkey must control the Ukrainian ships. The agreement will also provide for the Ukrainians themselves to escort the ships through the Black Sea.

This is how to avoid the mines that Ukraine has laid out to protect its coastline, especially outside the port city of Odesa.

A control center will also be set up in Istanbul with responsibility for organizing grain exports, according to NTB. This will be staffed by employees from the UN, Turkey, Russia and Ukraine.

Big consequences

The war in Ukraine has been called a war in the world’s dinner plate. The country exports around ten percent of the world’s wheat, and fifty percent of the world’s sunflower oil.

Before the war, most exports took place by sea. Since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, however, the Ukrainian Black Sea coast has been blockaded by Russian naval forces.

Around 22 million tonnes of wheat have thus been stuck in the country.

This has had major consequences for the food supply to several developing countries. The UN has warned that the war could lead to a global food crisis that could last for years.

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Much of the grain from Ukraine goes to countries in the Middle East and Africa, where wheat and grain are very important ingredients in the diet. Historically, it has contributed to unrest if prices rise too much here.

The World Food Programme, which donates food to the world’s poorest, gets around 40 percent of its grain from Ukraine.

The problems have already started in several places in the world. In the Mediterranean country of Lebanon bread prices have already tripled. In Kenya, wheat prices have increased by nearly 60 percent.

Read more about the fight for Ukrainian grain here.

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