"Tomorrow in Istanbul, the military delegations of the defense ministries of Turkey, the Russian Federation, and Ukraine and the delegation of the United Nations will hold negotiations on the safe shipment of grain, which is waiting at Ukrainian ports, to international markets by sea," reads the statement by Minister of Defense of Turkey Hulusi Akar, published on the Ministry's website.
Akar notes that he had held negotiations on the settlement of the food crisis with the defense ministers of Ukraine and the Russian Federation, after which a permanent communication channel was created at the level of the ministries. In addition, Turkey’s Defense Ministry delegation visited Moscow, while the Ukrainian military delegation visited Ankara.
As reported, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky had a phone conversation with President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on July 11, during which they discussed the importance of unblocking Ukrainian ports and resuming grain exports, as well as preventing the export of Ukrainian grain by Russia from the occupied territories.
