UPDATE - Turkish, Ukrainian ministers hail grain center in Istanbul

UPDATES WITH UKRAINIAN INFRASTRUCTURE MINISTER'S TWEET

By Sarp Ozer

ISTANBUL (AA) - The Turkish defense and Ukrainian infrastructure ministers on Sunday visited the Joint Coordination Center in Istanbul established to coordinate Kyiv's grain exports.

Hulusi Akar and Oleksandr Kubrakov praised the fact that millions of tons of Ukrainian grain has been sent to world markets via Türkiye.

Ankara, along with the UN, brokered the July 22 agreement between Moscow and Kyiv allowing for the resumption of Ukrainian grain exports from Black Sea ports blockaded due to the Russia-Ukraine war.

“During these three months, a total of 345 vessels shipped 7.7 million tons of grain from Ukrainian ports,” Akar told reporters, adding that food prices have significantly dropped due to the grain shipments.

For his part, Kubrakov thanked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Akar for their contributions to the establishment of the grain corridor.

“We believe that this initiative should continue. We understand the link between this initiative and grain prices around the world,” he added.

Kubrakov also thanked Erdogan for the prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine in September.

Later on Sunday, Kubrakov said on Twitter that he met Akar and discussed the Black Sea Grain Initiative, official name of the deal agreed upon in July.

“There is no doubt that the Initiative will continue its work after November 22. All parties will do their best to prevent the food crisis,” he added.

In his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this week, Erdogan said Ankara is determined to continue the Ukrainian grain exports, and transfer Russian grain and fertilizer to less developed countries.