Turkey claimed that negotiations to resume Ukrainian grain exports that Russia had stopped in the Black Sea had resulted in a settlement.
It gives hope that the deadlock, which put millions of people at greater risk of hunger, will end.
Hulusi Akar, Turkey’s defense minister, claimed that both parties had reached an understanding on how to guarantee the security of grain ships’ shipping lanes.
Next week, when additional meetings are scheduled to take place in Turkey, the deal, he claimed, would be inked.
An important step forward, according to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, was made on Wednesday.
He said more work was needed to finalise the deal, which would require “a lot of goodwill and commitments by all parties”.
Ukraine has been able to send some of its grain by road and rail, and a new naval route is opening up through the Danube estuary. But only 2.5 million tonnes were exported last month, much less than the eight million-tonne average before the war, and millions more are waiting in the Ukrainian port of Odesa.
Russia’s Black Sea fleet is said to be stopping any shipments getting in or out, and the BBC has documented mounting evidence that Moscow’s forces have stolen and exported Ukrainian grain. Other routes have been heavily mined.
But speaking from Kyiv during his nightly address on Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appeared to strike an optimistic tone.
“The Ukrainian delegation has reported to me that there is progress. In the coming days, we will agree on the details with the UN secretary-general,” he said.
Before progress was announced, diplomats said negotiations included plans for Ukrainian vessels to guide grain ships in and out of mined port waters.
It was also suggested that Russia would be urged to respect a truce while shipments move and that Turkey – supported by the UN – would offer to inspect ships to allay Russian fears of weapons smuggling.
