Lrussia and Ukraine will sign an agreement on grain exports on Friday afternoon July 22 in Istanbul. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, along with representatives from Russia and Ukraine, will attend the signing ceremony at 1330 GMT at Dolmabahçe Palace. The agreement should have the rapid effect of lowering prices, which have seen very strong growth in recent months.
The agreement should allow Ukrainian cereals blocked by the war to leave via the Black Sea and ease the obstacles to the export of Russian cereals and fertilizers. In New York, the deputy spokesman for the UN, Farhan Haq, announced that Antonio Guterres and his two negotiators, who have been on the job for more than two months, were expected imminently in Istanbul. The UN chief is spending holidays near Turkey and had recently indicated that he was ready to cut them short for a signing in Istanbul.
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Diplomats say a deal was originally supposed to have been signed on Wednesday, then it was postponed until Thursday before now due to happen on Friday. A decision welcomed by the United States “in principle”. “What matters to us now is to hold Russia accountable for implementing this agreement and allowing Ukrainian grain to reach world markets,” the State Department spokesperson said.
A commercial vessel inspection
Rebeca Grynspan, head of the UN trade and development agency Unctad, was tasked with negotiating the easing of restrictions indirectly affecting the export of Russian grain and fertilizers following international sanctions imposed on Moscow notably by the United States and the European Union. According to a diplomat, Washington recently promised so-called “comfort” guarantees so that shipping companies could supply Russia with large vessels for the export of its grains and fertilizers without being worried about sanctions. Moscow claimed that the latter only allowed it to use small vessels with insufficient capacity for its exports.
As for Ukrainian cereals, the agreement under negotiation aims to re-use the Black Sea via secure corridors and localized ceasefires in passage areas. An inspection of commercial ships, presumably by Turkey, is planned to ensure that ships going to Odessa to collect grain do not contain weapons. The creation of a coordination center is planned in Istanbul with the participation of UN experts specializing in maritime navigation. The food crisis threatens several countries in the world with the risk of famine, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, but also in Lebanon and Egypt.
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