A diplomatic breakthrough was achieved in the Ukraine war on Friday: the warring parties Russia and Ukraine signed a grain agreement.
+++ 4.55 p.m.: After delegates from Russia and Ukraine signed a grain agreement separately in Istanbul, UN Secretary-General António Guterres and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, among others, made statements.
The deal “opens the way for large-scale commercial food exports from three key Ukrainian Black Sea ports — Odessa, Chornomorsk and Yuzhnyy,” Guterres said. “This is an agreement for the world.” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was also present at the ceremony, spoke of a “historic day”.
“With the shipping traffic starting in the coming days, we will open a new airway from the Black Sea to many countries around the world,” said the Turkish head of government. Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the grain conflict with his Turkish counterpart Erdogan at a meeting in the Iranian capital Tehran on Tuesday (July 19).
Grain agreement between Ukraine and Russia: the individual points
+++ 4.20 p.m.: are now The Guardians according to further details of the agreement between Russia and Ukraine known. As reported by several UN officials, the following points were written into the agreement:
- A coalition of Turkish, Ukrainian and UN officials will oversee grain loading onto ships in Ukrainian ports before setting off on a pre-planned route through the Black Sea, which remains heavily mined by Ukrainian and Russian forces.
- Using a provided map, Ukrainian pilot ships are supposed to guide the merchant ships transporting the grain safely through the mined areas along the coast.
- In Turkey’s Bosporus Strait, ships will be closely monitored and checked by a joint coordination center in Istanbul, home to representatives from the UN, Ukraine, Russia and Turkey.
- Ships entering Ukraine are inspected under the supervision of a joint coordination center to ensure they are not carrying weapons or items that could be used in war.
- Russia and Ukraine have agreed not to attack merchant ships or ports involved in transporting essential food.
+++ 4:13 p.m.: The grain agreement between Russia and Ukraine, as well as Turkey and the United Nations has just been signed. Before the signing ceremony in Istanbul, UN Secretary-General António Guterres spoke to the British newspaper The Guardians according to a “glimmer of hope”.
Ukraine war news: Ukraine and Russia sign separate treaty
Update from Friday, July 22, 3:40 p.m.: As the Kyiv government said on Friday, Ukraine will only sign an agreement with Turkey and the United Nations to resume grain exports, which were interrupted by the Ukraine war, and will not sign any direct agreements with Russia itself.
“Ukraine does not sign any documents with Russia. We will reach an agreement with Turkey and the UN [den Vereinten Nationen] sign,” Presidential Advisor Mykhaylo Podolyak wrote on Twitter, adding that Moscow will sign a separate agreement, but the content will likely be almost identical.
News on the Ukraine war: Russia and Ukraine want to sign grain agreements
First report from Friday, July 22nd: Istanbul – In the Turkey An agreement to end the Russian grain blockade in the Black Sea is to be signed on Friday (July 22) at 3:30 p.m. (CEST). For this purpose, a control center will be set up, which will be managed by the United Nations and by representatives of Russia, the Ukraine and Turkey is to be occupied.
She found that out German press agency from diplomatic circles in New York. The exact coordinates for the humanitarian corridor by sea between Ukraine and the Bosphorus are also to be determined at this headquarters in the Turkish metropolis. Also the news agency AFP reports about it.
News about the Ukraine war: Russia and Ukraine are among the largest wheat exporters
Russia and Ukraine are among the top wheat exporters and play an important role in world food security. Because of the Russian war of aggression against the neighboring country, millions of tons of grain cannot be exported from Ukraine. However, the food is urgently needed on the world market – especially in Asia and Africa. The United Nations has recently issued a warning before the worst famine in decades.
News on the Ukraine war: Grain agreement – Ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine in strategically important places
According to the information, the parties agreed that ships bound for Ukraine would first be searched in Istanbul to ensure that they were not carrying weapons or the like. There should be another check in Turkey if the ships coming from Ukraine want to leave the Black Sea again. This is to ensure that only grain is on board.
Ships in the humanitarian corridor and the ports involved should not be attacked by Russia or Ukraine. This point is interpreted in New York in such a way that a ceasefire should actually apply in these strategically important places – for example in the port of Odessa. According to the information, the agreement will initially apply for four months.
Grain agreement between Russia and Ukraine: Signing in Istanbul
According to the information, however, the implementation of the agreement and the export of food from Ukraine could take weeks. The West noted that it is still possible that Moscow the agreements could still fail due to pretended reasons. It is expected that the agreement in Istanbul will be signed by UN Secretary-General António Guterres and the Turkish President, among others Recep Tayyip Erdogan to be signed. So far it has been unclear which delegations will arrive from Russia and Ukraine.
Representatives of the UN, Ukraine, Russia and Turkey had already made great progress in negotiations in Istanbul. The agreement that has now apparently been reached would probably be the greatest mediation success of the United Nations since the beginning of the Ukraine war, after the world organization had already assisted in the evacuation of Ukrainian civilians in the city of Mariupol. In addition, it could be the most significant compromise between Moscow and Kyiv act in the conflict. (nak with AFP/dpa)
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