Turkey, Russia, Ukraine, and the United Nations plan to hold a meeting in Istanbul in the coming days to discuss the details of a roadmap to unblock vessels loaded with grain, the Anadolu news agency said.
"Since the beginning of hostilities on the territory of Ukraine, Turkey has been making multilateral efforts to resolve the conflict through diplomacy, while taking an active position in eliminating the global food shortage. According to information received from diplomatic sources, Turkey has been conducting diplomatic contacts for some time in order to form a mechanism to ensure the safe delivery of grain from Ukraine to world markets. Following the negotiations of the Turkish side with representatives from the Russian Federation, Ukraine and the UN, a roadmap has been prepared that will ensure the functionality of the ‘grain corridor’ under the auspices of the world organisation", the agency said.
According to Anadolu, 20 million tonnes of grain are expected to be released into international markets once a centre for cooperation between Russia and Ukraine is set up in Istanbul with Turkish mediation.
Earlier, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that the UN had suggested creating a contact group that would comprise Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, and the UN to discuss ways to release vessels loaded with grain stuck at Ukrainian ports.
