Foreign Ministers Of Russia, Ukraine Welcome Landmark Grain Deal

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Friday thanked Türkiye for its contribution to the landmark deal to resume grain exports from Ukraine's Black Sea ports.

"I would like to once again thank our Turkish partners, personally President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for their contribution to the results achieved today," Lavrov said in a video message posted on Twitter.

"The main task is to ensure transparent and unhindered supplies of Russian food and fertilizers, including raw materials for their production, to world markets," he said.

Russia will remain true to its commitments in the field of food security, Lavrov stressed.

He added that it is "unacceptable and inhumane" for the US and its allies to use the issue of food security for "geopolitical adventures."

"It is gratifying that Washington and Brussels have stopped blocking the realization of today's deals," he said, while accusing the western countries of "shifting the blame for food problems to Moscow."

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba also welcomed the signing of the deal for the "safe transportation of grain and other food exports from Ukrainian ports."

"Resuming them is vitally important for Ukraine and the world. I commend the efforts of Antonio Guterres and count on the UN to ensure proper implementation," Kuleba wrote on Twitter.

Andrii Sybiha, deputy head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, said he appreciates the active position of the UN and Türkiye in settlement of the "grain issue."

"This will allow to establish a humanitarian corridor to export grain. An important step to avoid the global food crisis," he wrote on Twitter.

Under the deal reached on a UN-led plan during talks in Istanbul, a coordination center will be established to carry out joint inspections at the entrances and exits of harbors, and to ensure the safety of the routes.

Internationally praised for its mediator role, Türkiye coordinated with Moscow and Kyiv to open a corridor from the Ukrainian port city of Odesa to resume global grain shipments long stuck due to the Russia-Ukraine war, now in its fifth month. -