Turkey, Russia, Ukraine, UN to sign deal to overcome grain delivery problems

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• Difficulties in grain exports from Ukraine since Russia's invasion has led to a global grain crisis

• Ukraine accuses Russia of stealing the grain from the land it occupied

• Turkey is among the places where the stolen grain is sold, according to Ukraine's authorities

• At yesterday's meeting, the delegations agreed to set up a coordination in İstanbul to facilitate grain exports

• Another meeting will be held in İstanbul to discuss technical issues such as navigational safety

Delegations from Turkey, Russia, Ukraine and the United Nations (UN) agreed to set up a coordination center in İstanbul to facilitate grain exports from Ukraine, Turkey's defense minister announced.

The four-way meeting in Istanbul was "positive and constructive," Hulusi Akar said after the talks. "In today's meeting, an important step was taken to contribute to the solution of the food crisis, all details regarding the safe shipment of grain and other food-loaded vessels by sea were discussed."

He said the participants found common ground with regards to the technical issues, such as navigational safety on transfer routes and joint controls at entry and exit of ports.

Representatives of Ukraine and Russia are set to gather in Turkey next week to review the details of the agreement and also sign relevant documents, making the deal official, he added.

Zelenskyy: I am grateful

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine welcomed the progress made in the meeting and expressed gratitude to the UN and Turkey.

"We are indeed making significant efforts to restore the supply of food to the world market," Zelenskyy said in a statement. "And I am grateful to the United Nations and Turkey for their respective efforts."

"The success of this story is needed not only by our state but also, without exaggeration, by the whole world," he added.

"If it is possible to remove the Russian threat to shipping in the Black Sea, it will remove the severity of the global food crisis," the Ukrainian president said.

Noting that the Ukrainian delegation informed him that there is some progress on this matter, he said: "We will agree on the details with the UN Secretary General (Antonio Guterres) in the coming days."

Guterres: A ray of hope

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described the agreement as a "ray of hope" for those suffering from hunger worldwide.

"Today at last we have a ray of hope; a ray of hope to ease human suffering, and alleviate hunger around the world; a ray of hope to support developing countries and the most vulnerable people, a ray of hope to a bring a measure of much needed stability to the global food system," Guterres said at the UN's New York headquarters, shortly after Akar's announcement of the deal.

Guterres thanked Türkiye for its "outstanding efforts" during the talks, as well as Ankara's "critical role going forward."

Difficulties in grain exports from Ukraine, one of the largest wheat producers of the world, have led to a global crisis after Russia's invasion of the country.

Ukraine has accused Russia of stealing the grain in the places it occupied in Ukraine. Turkey is among the places where the stolen grain is sold, according to officials from Ukraine.

CLICK - Ukraine to summon Turkey's ambassador over ship carrying 'stolen grain'

Russia denies stealing Ukraine's grain and says the disruption in the grain shipment is caused by the naval mines laid by Ukraine off the Black Sea coasts.

Nearly 4,900 civilians have been killed in Ukraine since the beginning of the war on February 24, according to UN figures. Over 15 million people have been forced to flee their homes, including more than 8.4 million that have fled to other countries. (AEK/VK)