UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that during the quadrilateral meeting in Istanbul, the parties achieved “critical” progress on the issue of grain export from Ukraine by sea.
Source: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres
Russian, Ukrainian and Turkish military delegations met with UN officials in Istanbul on July 13 for talks on resuming Ukrainian grain exports amid the worsening global food crisis.
“A ray of hope in a world overshadowed by crises. Today in Istanbul, we saw a big step forward to ensure the export of Ukrainian food through the Black Sea. I applaud the commitment of all those working to reach an agreement for our common humanity,” Guterres said.
According to the UN Secretary-General, the negotiators in Istanbul did not conclude an agreement, but agreed to work on it. He added that the parties have yet to agree on the technical details of grain export.
Guterres thanked Turkey for its mediation efforts, as well as Russian and Ukrainian officials “for their constructive work.”
“Today is an important and essential step on the way to concluding an agreement,” added the UN Secretary-General and noted that the next meeting on the issue of grain export will take place next week.
