Ukraine awaits signal from UN, Turkey to start grain transportation

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said they are waiting for “appropriate signals” from their partners - United Nations and Turkey - for the start of grain transportation.

Exports may begin in the coming days, Zelensky said during a visit to Odessa region on Friday, adding that Ukrainian side is “fully prepared,” according to a Ukrainian presidency report. 

The transportation will resume with the departure of several ships that were loaded but could not set sail due to the start of the war, he said.

Ukraine and Russia agreed on a deal in Istanbul last week, for the resumption of Ukrainian grain exports from the Odesa, Chornomorsk and Yuzhny ports, On Tuesday, the United Nations and Turkey, opened a joint coordination center with the two warring countries to regulate the delivery of the grain via Black Sea.

Observing the loading of Ukrainian grain onto a grain carrier in the Chornomorsk Port, “The first vessel is being loaded since the beginning of the war. This is a Turkish vessel. This shows that the port has started working," Zelensky said.

"It is important for us that Ukraine remains the guarantor of global food security,"Zelensky added.

Some 20 million tons of grain have stuck at the war-torn country after Russia’s invasion, threatening a global food crisis. Ukraine is one of the world’s biggest grain exporters.