ISTANBUL: After a Russian embargo stoked concerns about a worldwide food crisis, Kyiv and Moscow on Friday signed a historic agreement with Turkiye and the UN to open Ukraine’s Black Sea grain shipments.
Following numerous rounds of painstaking discussions, Russian and Ukrainian teams signed individual agreements with Ankara and the UN as their first significant accord following nearly five months of combat.
Ukraine declined to sign the same documents as Moscow because it had already warned that any Russian “provocations” around its ringed Black Sea ports would be met with a fast military reaction.At the signing ceremony in the opulent Dolmabahce Palace on the Bosphorus Strait, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres declared, “Today, there is still a beacon on the Black Sea — a beacon of hope, a beacon of promise, a beacon of relief.” The arrangement reached through mediation by the UN and Turkey creates safe passageways for Ukrainian ships to enter and exit three designated Black Sea ports mostly around Odessa.
Additionally, all sides agreed not to target ships coming in or leaving port.
The most vulnerable individuals on the verge of hunger will receive support, according to Guterres, as well as emerging nations that are on the verge of becoming bankrupt.Two of the largest grain producers in the world are engaged in a five-month conflict that has resulted in millions of displaced people and thousands of fatalities throughout one of Europe’s most fertile regions.
In order to prevent a dreaded amphibious attack, Kiev planted landmines and Russian warships stopped up to 25 million tonnes of wheat and other goods from entering Ukrainian ports.
“The accord reached in Istanbul today is a positive development. Josep Borrell, the head of foreign policy for the group, tweeted, “We ask for its speedy implementation.
