Deal set to end grain blockade

A BREAKTHROUGH deal that would unblock the export of vital Ukrainian grain while allowing Russia to export its own produce is to be signed today.

- Mark Reynolds

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres and officials from both warring nations will be present at the ceremony in Istanbul.

Mr Guterres has been striving to enable Ukraine to export millions of grain stockpiles stuck in ports for months due to the war, in order to ease a global food crisis that pushed up food prices.

The plan involves joint controls of ships as they leave and arrive at Black Sea ports and a mechanism to ensure the safety of the transfer routes.