UN Secretary-General António Guterres announced an “important step” towards ensuring the export of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea.
“Today in Istanbul, we saw an important step towards ensuring the safe and stable transport of food from Ukraine through the Black Sea,” Guterres said after a meeting of UN representatives with the military delegations of Russia, Turkey and Ukraine in Istanbul on Wednesday.
He added that “significant technical work will be required to realize the progress that has been made today.”
He explained that the participants in the Istanbul meeting were able to reach “substantial agreement on many points, especially on issues related to mechanisms for supervision, coordination and demining.”
Guterres suggested that reaching a final agreement on the export of Ukrainian grain could take place next week, noting that this would require “a lot of effort on the part of the parties.”
He added: “I’m optimistic, but the job isn’t done yet.”
Source: TASS