“We have a high-level meeting in a four-party format in Istanbul tomorrow and the day after tomorrow,” the diplomat told reporters.
The grain deal signed between Russia, Turkiye, Ukraine, and the United Nations in July 2022 provides for the export of Ukrainian grain, food, and fertilizers through the Black Sea from three ports, including Odessa.
The agreement also includes a memorandum of understanding between Moscow and the UN that implies unblocking Russian grain and fertilizer exports via the Black Sea despite Western sanctions.
However, as Russian officials repeatedly stress, these conditions were never fulfilled. Nonetheless, Moscow continued to play fair wishing to help solve the global food crisis. Later it was also revealed that Ukrainian grain exports were shipped to the rich countries, especially EU member-states, while poor regions were ignored.