UPDATE - Ukraine's president welcomes Guatemalan counterpart

UPDATES WITH REMARKS FROM JOINT PRESS CONFERENCE, BACKGROUND; REVISED DECK

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

ANKARA (AA) - Ukraine's president met with his Guatemalan counterpart in the capital Kyiv on Monday.

"I am glad to welcome the President of Guatemala Alejandro Giammattei to Kyiv!" Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on his Telegram account.

"This is the first visit of a leader from Latin America to Ukraine not only since Feb. 24, but also in the last 12 years," he added, referring to the day Russia started its war on Ukraine.

Zelenskyy said that they would hold "important negotiations" to strengthen bilateral relations.

Referring to last week’s deal to unblock grain exports, Zelenskyy later told a joint news conference with Giammattei: "We will start grain exports to prove to the whole world that we have not blocked the exit of Ukrainian crops from ports."

Ukraine's ports authority on Sunday announced that convoys will soon resume grain exports from Odesa, Chornomorsk, and Yuzhne.

With the mediation of Türkiye and the UN, on Friday Ukraine and Russia signed an agreement in Istanbul to unblock Ukraine's grain shipments from Black Sea ports.

Under the deal, a coordination center has been set up in Istanbul to do joint inspections at the entrances and exits of harbors, ensuring the safety of export routes.