Istanbul: With a declared intention to ensure the global market is enough supplied, the battling countries, Ukraine and Russia, have signed a deal to allow the shipment of food grains from the blockaded Black Sea ports.
The deal has been signed by Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu and Ukraine's infrastructure minister, Oleksandr Kubrakov in the presence of UN secretary general, António Guterres, and Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at Dolmabahçe Palace in Istanbul.
Both Shoigu and Kubrakov are reported to have signed the deal separately, carefully avoiding sitting at the same table and avoiding shaking hands.
Pointing out that the deal will help to alleviate a food and economic crisis in the developing world, Guterres said that there is a beacon on the Black Sea. A beacon of hope and possibility.
The deal is expected to ensure the sale of food grains around $10bn worth. It is also expected to ease the passage of grain and essential goods such as sunflower oil from three Ukrainian ports, including Odesa, even as the war continues to rage elsewhere in the country.
The agreement is valid for 120 days and may be automatically renewed without further negotiations.
Though sceptical Ukraine is about Russia intention, the Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said Ukraine wanted the UN and Turkey to ensure the deal is fully implemented.
According to UN officials, under the agreement, a coalition of Turkish, Ukrainian and UN staff will monitor the loading of grain into vessels in Ukrainian ports before navigating a preplanned route through the Black Sea, which remains heavily mined by Ukrainian and Russian forces.