Ukraine and Russia are preparing to sign an agreement this Friday in Istanbul, which will allow the export of Ukrainian cereals, blocked in the Black Sea ports because of the war and missing from world markets.
The agreement, negotiated over the last two months under the mediation of Turkey and the United Nations, has not yet been presented, but a few hours before the signing – scheduled for 2:30 p.m. (Lisbon time) at the Dolmabahçe Palace in Turkey city of Istanbul, in the presence of the Secretary General of the UN, António Guterres, some conditions are already known.
Some already known points of the agreement, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP):
It will have a coordination and control center in Istanbul
It will be led by representatives of the parties involved: a Ukrainian, a Russian, a Turk and a UN representative, assisted by their respective teams.
These delegates will be in charge of establishing the ship rotation calendar in the Black Sea. According to the experts involved in the negotiation, it is still necessary three to four weeks to finalize the details and make it operational.
Inspections will be carried out in Turkey on departure and arrival.
The inspection of grain-carrying ships is a Moscow requirementthat he wants to make sure that the ships are not used to deliver weapons to Ukraine.
These inspections will not be carried out at sea, for practical reasons, but in Turkey, probably in Istanbul, which has two important commercial ports, at the entrance to the Bosphorus (Haydarpasa) and the Sea of Marmara (Ambarli).
Conducted by representatives of the four parties involved in the elaboration of the agreement, they will be carried out both at the departure and arrival of the ships.
Ships will travel through safe corridors
The Russians and the Ukrainians have pledged to keep the Black Sea shipping lanes free of any military activity.
According to the agreement, if demining is necessary, it will be carried out by a “third country” – none of the three involved -, which has not yet been specified.
When they leave Ukraine, ships will be escorted by Ukrainian ships (probably military) until leaving the territorial waters of Ukraine.
It will have a duration of four months, but it is renewable.
The agreement will be signed to be in force for the next four months, but will be automatically renewed.
The initial term was calculated taking into account that they are 20 to 25 million tons of grain in silos in Ukrainian ports. If eight million tons are exported per month, this four-month period will be enough to remove what is already stored.
It will have a counterpart for Russian cereals and fertilizers.
A memorandum of understanding must accompany this agreement, ensuring that Western sanctions against Moscow will not directly or indirectly affect in cereals and fertilizers.
This was a requirement from Russia, which made it a condition condition sine qua non for the signing of the agreement.
Source: Observadora
