ISTANBUL: After a Russian embargo stoked concerns about a worldwide food crisis, Kyiv and Moscow on Friday signed a historic agreement with Turkiye and the UN to open Ukraine's Black Sea grain shipments.
Following numerous rounds of painstaking discussions, Russian and Ukrainian teams signed individual agreements with Ankara and the UN as their first significant accord following nearly five months of combat.
Ukraine declined to sign the same documents as Moscow because it had already warned that any Russian "provocations" around its ringed Black Sea ports would be met with a fast military reaction.
At the signing ceremony in the opulent Dolmabahce Palace on the Bosphorus Strait, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres declared, "Today, there is a beacon on the Black Sea – a beacon of hope, a beacon of promise, a beacon of relief."
The arrangement reached through mediation by the UN and Turkey creates safe passageways for Ukrainian ships to enter and exit three designated Black Sea ports in and near Odesa.
Additionally, all sides agreed not to target ships coming in or leaving port.
The most vulnerable individuals on the verge of hunger will receive support, according to Guterres, as well as emerging nations that are on the verge of becoming bankrupt.
The way to peace
Two of the largest grain producers in the world are engaged in a five-month conflict that has resulted in millions of displaced people and thousands of fatalities throughout one of Europe's most productive regions.
In order to prevent a dreaded amphibious attack, Kyiv planted landmines and Russian warships stopped up to 25 million tonnes of wheat and other goods from entering Ukrainian ports.
"The accord reached in Istanbul today is a positive development. Josep Borrell, the head of foreign policy for the group, tweeted, "We ask for its speedy implementation.
Key negotiator and strong friend of both Moscow and Kyiv, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, expressed his confidence that the agreement will "perhaps restore the path to peace."
In addition to thanking Turkiye and the UN for mediating the agreement, UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss warned that "we will be watching to ensure Russia's actions match its words."
The two sides would sign "mirror" agreements, according to Mykhaylo Podolyak, a presidential advisor from Ukraine.
"We commit to commitments to Turkiye and the UN by signing an agreement with them. He claimed on social media that Russia has signed duplicate agreements with Turkey and the UN. He threatened that "an urgent military reaction" would be given in response to any violations of the agreement by Russia and any invasions near Ukraine's ports.
Diplomats expect grain to start fully flowing for the first time since Russia’s invasion of its Western-backed neighbour by the middle of August.
Ukrainian farmers
Still, news of the deal earlier drew scepticism from Ukrainian farmers under pressure in the war-battered south where storage facilities are rapidly filling and local prices for grain tanking.
“It gives some hope but you can’t believe what the Russians say,” said Mykola Zaverukha, a farmer with some 13,000 tonnes of grain waiting for export.
“Russia is unreliable, they have shown themselves to be year after year,” he said in the southern Mykolaiv region.