Turkey has announced that Ukraine and Russia will sign an agreement on Friday to reopen Ukraine's Black Sea ports to grain exports, a hopeful hint that a global food crisis precipitated by Russia's invasion may be alleviated.
Since Russian President Vladimir Putin deployed soldiers into neighboring Ukraine on February 24, the blockade by Russia's Black Sea navy has limited supplies to global markets and pushed grain prices skyrocketing.
The two countries, two of the world's largest food exporters, did not immediately corroborate the Turkish president's announcement on Thursday.
However, in a late-night video address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy hinted that his country's ports on the Black Sea may soon be reopened.
The agreement's specifics were not immediately disclosed. A United Nations official confirmed that Secretary-General Antonio Guterres would be traveling to Turkey. The deal was scheduled to be signed on Friday, according to the office of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.
Zelenskiy, whose talk focused primarily on the possibility for Ukrainian forces to achieve gains on the battlefield, said: "And tomorrow, we also await news from Turkey regarding the unblocking of our ports."
Hulusi Akar, the Turkish defense minister, last week said the agreement involves coordinated port inspections. In addition, Turkey would establish a grain export coordination center with Ukraine, Russia, and the United Nations.
On Thursday, the Ukrainian foreign ministry said that a new round of negotiations to unblock grain shipments would be held in Turkey on Friday.
Russia has denied involvement for aggravating the food situation, blaming instead the chilling effect of Western sanctions for reducing its own food and fertilizer supplies, as well as Ukraine's mining of its Black Sea ports.
Ned Price, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State, stated that Washington would focus on keeping Moscow accountable for implementing the agreement.
Two months have passed since the United Nations and Turkey began negotiating what Guterres termed a "package deal" to resume Ukraine's Black Sea grain exports and allow Russian grain and fertilizer supplies.
The latest round of sanctions imposed by the European Union, would have "devastating effects" on global security and portions of the global economy, Russia said Thursday.
In recent weeks, Ukraine has accused Russia of intensifying its missile attacks on its cities in an effort to terrorize its population. Moscow denies intentionally targeting civilians and maintains that all of its targets are military.
