Türkiye doing best to end grain crisis: Defense minister

ANKARA (AA) - Türkiye is doing its utmost to solve the grain crisis which emerged after the Russia-Ukraine war, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Friday.

"We are doing our best to end the grain crisis. Hopefully, we'll end it with this deal. Dialogue between countries is important," Akar said in an interview with broadcaster CNN Turk.

Akar's remarks came after a historic deal signed by Türkiye, the UN, Russia and Ukraine on the resumption of Ukraine’s grain shipments from Black Sea ports.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday signed a deal in Istanbul to resume Ukraine’s Black Sea grain exports. They were joined by representatives from Russia and Ukraine.

Akar said the aim of the deal is to facilitate safe navigation for the export of grain and other food items from the Ukrainian ports of Odesa, Chernomorsk and Yuzhny.

He added that a joint coordination center will be formed in Istanbul for this purpose.

The deal came after a general agreement was reached between stakeholders on a UN-led plan during talks in Istanbul on July 13 to form a coordination center to carry out joint inspections at the entrance and exit of the harbors, and to ensure the safety of the routes.

Internationally praised for its mediator role, Türkiye has coordinated with Moscow and Kyiv to open a corridor from Odesa to resume global grain shipments which are stuck due to the Russia-Ukraine war, now in its fifth month.