"I think it's safe to say that we feel that incrementally there's been a little bit more progress made," Haq said during a press briefing. "The Secretary-General, as he told you last week, remains ready to travel to Istanbul if he needs to do so."
Haq also said the United Nations does not have any expectations about the meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan that is set to take place in Tehran on Tuesday.
The breakthrough on the issue of grain exports was achieved last week when all relevant parties met in Turkey and agreed on the technical aspects of exporting grain.
Officials from Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the United Nations are expected to meet again this week to discuss grain shipments via the Black Sea.
In addition, Russia, Turkey and Iran are set to meet in Tehran on Tuesday to discuss the conflict in Syria when Russia and Turkey may discuss the topic of grain exports from Ukraine.