A UN-brokered deal to allow Ukrainian grain and fertiliser exports to resume is set to be signed in Istanbul, Turkish officials said on Thursday, although the UN cautioned that nothing was set in stone.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and officials from Russia and Ukraine would oversee the signing ceremony on Friday, Mr Erdogan's spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said on Twitter.
UN spokesman Farhan Haq said Mr Guterres would travel to Istanbul on Thursday, but would not confirm when the signing might take place.
"The situation remains a little bit fluid, so I can't really say when something will be signed," Mr Haq said. "We're not quite there yet."
A deal between Ukraine and Russia, which have been at war since Moscow's invasion on February 24, would relieve a global food crisis caused by blocked Black Sea grain exports.
Up to 25 million tonnes of wheat and other grain have been blocked in Ukrainian ports by Russian warships and landmines Kyiv has laid to avert an amphibious assault.
US State Department spokesman Ned Price welcomed the prospective deal and credited Ankara — which has good relations with Kyiv and Moscow — for its role in negotiating it.
But Mr Price said: "We should never have been in this position in the first place. This was a deliberate decision on the part of the Russian Federation to weaponise food."
News of Friday's signing was a "welcome development", he said, "but what will really matter is the implementation of this agreement.
"We, of course, will continue to work with our partners to hold Russia accountable for its implementation."
The first direct talks between the warring sides' military delegations since March, attended in Istanbul last week by Turkish and UN officials, came up with an initial draft for resolving the impasse.
The sides were meant to have met again this week for the possible signature of a formal agreement.
But Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened to derail the talks by warning on Tuesday that he expected any agreement to also address his own country's blocked grain exports.
The five-month war is being fought across one of Europe's most fertile regions by two of the world's biggest producers of grain.
Almost all of the grain is usually shipped out of the region across the Black Sea.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Thursday acknowledged Mr Putin's concerns.
"When we resolve this issue, not only will the export path for grain and sunflower oil from Ukraine be opened, but also for products from Russia," Mr Cavusoglu said.
"Even if these Russian products are not affected by sanctions, there are blockages concerning maritime transport, insurance and the banking system," he added.
"The United States and the EU have given promises to lift these."
Agencies contributed to this report
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An elderly couple stands near a damaged school in the city of Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine. EPA -
At least one person was killed after shelling hit the school, the Ukrainian State Emergency Service said. EPA -
A woman walks past a destroyed market near a railway station in Donetsk. Reuters -
Municipal workers clean a street in Donetsk. Reuters -
A man passes destroyed buildings in the Ukrainian town of Siversk. AFP -
A destroyed school in Siversk. AFP -
A Ukrainian serviceman passes by destroyed buildings in Siversk. AFP -
A woman's home is repaired by volunteers after being destroyed by shelling in the village of Zalissya. AFP -
People fill up water canisters in Mykolaiv, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. AFP -
Grain fields burn on the outskirts of Kurakhove, Donetsk Oblast, eastern Ukraine. AP Photo -
The mother of Ukrainian serviceman Abdulkarim Gulamov, who was killed in a fight against Russian troops in Kherson, attends his funeral in Kyiv. Reuters -
People carry pictures of Mr Gulamov at the funeral. Reuters -
Ukrainian service members fire a shell from a M777 Howitzer in Kharkiv. Reuters -
A man walks in front of a damaged school after a missile strike hit the city of Kramatorsk. EPA -
A cyclist rides past burnt cars after a Russian rocket strike in Kharkiv. AFP -
Rescuers and servicemen work at a school building damaged by a Russian military strike in Kramatorsk. Reuters -
Sasha, 12, a refugee from Ukraine at the humanitarian aid centre set up at the Global Expo exhibition hall in Warsaw, Poland. AFP -
Maksym and Andrii, 11-year-old boys, play with plastic guns at a self-made checkpoint along a motorway in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine. AP -
A Ukrainian soldier nicknamed 'Oakland' guards his position at the front line in the Kharkiv region. AP -
Ukrainians look at destroyed Russian military equipment at an outdoor exhibition near the Church of the Three Saints in Kyiv. AFP -
A member of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) militia sits in a makeshift bunker near Avdiivka, in the Donbas region of Ukraine. EPA -
A DPR militia member monitors a section of the road near Avdiivka. EPA -
Ukrainians pass a heavily damaged shopping mall in the city of Kherson. AFP -
The rubble of a house in Moshchun village, about 20 kilometres outside Kyiv. EPA -
A resident helps a firefighter put out a fire after an air strike in the town of Bakhmut, in the breakaway enclave of Donetsk. AFP -
A woman surveys the devastation caused by an air strike in Bakhmut. AFP -
Part of a projectile fire by a rocket launcher lies embedded in a wheat field in Ukraine's Kharkiv region. AFP -
Members of the public look at a Ukrainian tank destroyed in a Russian attack, in Hostomel, north-west of Kyiv. EPA -
Burnt out cars destroyed in Russian attacks are piled up in Hostomel. EPA -
Jill Biden, US first lady, left, and US President Joe Biden welcome the first lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska, to the White House. EPA -
Miami District Two commissioner Ken Russell, left, and Miami police chief Manuel Morales with weapons collected in the Guns 4 Ukraine initiative, at Miami City Hall in Florida. Guns bought back by Miami will be delivered to sister city Irpin, near Kyiv. EPA -
A Ukrainian serviceman stands next to a Grad BM-21 multiple rocket launcher at the front line in Donbas, eastern Ukraine. AFP -
A woman walks her dog in front of a block of flats hit by shelling in Kramatorsk, Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine. EPA -
A Kramatorsk resident peers out of a window lined with tape to reduce the impact of shattering glass. EPA -
The damaged windows of an apartment, after shells hit a residential area in Kramatorsk. EPA -
Rescuers working on a residential building partially destroyed by missile strike in Bashtanka, Mykolaiv as the Russian war in Ukraine continues. AFP -
An Ukrainian infantry fighting vehicle lies by the roadside, having been destroyed by Russian forces in Ukraine. AFP
