Over 14M tons of grain exported from Ukraine: Türkiye

By Diyar Guldogan

ANKARA (AA) - More than 14 million tons of grain have been carried by 556 ships via the Black Sea grain corridor Türkiye helped broker earlier this year in a bid to avert a potential food crisis amid the Russia-Ukraine war, said an official announcement.

"The shipment of grain from Ukrainian ports continues. Up until today, 556 grain-loaded ships left Ukrainian ports. 560 ships went to Ukrainian ports for shipment," the Turkish National Defense Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

This July, Türkiye, the UN, Russia, and Ukraine signed an agreement in Istanbul to resume grain exports from three Ukrainian Black Sea ports, which were paused after the Russia-Ukraine war began in February. A Joint Coordination Center with officials from the three countries and the UN was set up in Istanbul to oversee the shipments.

The first ship carrying grain departed on Aug. 1 from the Ukrainian port of Odesa under the historic deal.

Türkiye, internationally praised for its unique mediator role between Ukraine and Russia, has repeatedly called on Kyiv and Moscow to end the war through negotiations.