Turkish Foreign Minister, UN Chief discuss Ukraine grain deal developments

Addis Ababa, August 5, 2022 (FBC) – Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and UN chief Antonio Guterres spoke over the phone on Thursday to discuss the latest developments related to the Ukraine grain deal.

Their conversation came in the backdrop of Türkiye’s announcement that three more grain ships are set to sail from Ukrainian ports on Friday.

Türkiye, the UN, Russia, and Ukraine signed a deal last month to resume exports from three Ukrainian ports of grain stuck due to the Russia-Ukraine war, which is now in its sixth month.

As a result of the landmark agreement, the Razoni, a Sierra Leone-flagged vessel, sailed out of the port of Odesa this week, the first grain ship to leave Ukraine since the war began.

Following inspections by a delegation of the Joint Coordination Center in Istanbul, where Turkish, Russian, Ukrainian and UN personnel work, the Razoni sailed on for Lebanon’s Tripoli on Wednesday with its cargo of over 26,500 tons of corn.