"We hope that the plan will begin to be implemented in the coming days. The process will be carried out from a coordination center that will be established in Istanbul. In addition to our country, officials from Russia, Ukraine and the UN will be present here," Erdogan told reporters.
He added that Ankara expects to sign a memorandum on the so-called grain issue during the meeting of four sides — Turkey, Russia, Ukraine, and the UN — later this week.
"We have been working on the export of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea for a long time. I discussed this issue several times with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky. Our ministries of foreign affairs and national defense also held meetings with their [counterparts] ... This week, we want to turn this memorandum into a written text," Erdogan told reporters
Last week, military officials representing Turkey, Russia and Ukraine, as well as a UN delegation. held grain negotiations in Istanbul. After the talks, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said the parties agreed to create a coordination center in Istanbul, adding that the Russian and Ukrainian sides will hold another round of talks in Turkey later.
Grain supplies from Ukraine ceased earlier this year amid Russia's special military operation, raising concerns about acute food shortages across the globe. The West has been blaming Russia for blocking shipments of grain, sunflower and fertilizers from Ukraine. Moscow has repeatedly denied the accusations, noting that the crisis was provoked by Ukrainian forces, who had mined the Black Sea ports. The Kremlin also stressed that Western sanctions against Russian agricultural exports have contributed to the issue.