Istanbul, Turkey | AFP
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said Friday that conditions were in place to unlock grain exports from Ukraine in the “next few days” and promised Moscow would not take advantage of de-mined Ukrainian ports.
“Today we have all the prerequisites and all the solutions for this process to begin in the next few days,” Shoigu said, after signing a landmark deal with the United Nations and Turkey on resuming grain shipments.
“We are talking not only about the beginning of the export of agricultural products from Ukrainian ports, but also, of course, work on agricultural products, fertiliser from Russian ports,” he said in televised remarks.
He added that Russia formally pledged not to take advantage of de-mined Ukrainian ports.
“We have undertaken this obligation,” he said, referring to Friday’s deal.
“Moreover, a very specific date is indicated there, the exact period for which this will all be done.”
Shoigu and Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov each signed separate but identical agreements with UN and Turkish officials on reopening blocked Black Sea delivery routes.
The grain deal could ease a global food crisis in which millions face hunger.
On a visit to Tehran earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the West must also remove restrictions on exports of Russian grain.
Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine has hampered shipments from one of the world’s biggest exporters of wheat and other grain, sparking fears of global food shortages.
© Agence France-Presse
