Turkey, Russia, Ukraine and U.N to meet on grain exports

A farmer reacts as he looks at his field burning due to the fighting in the Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukraine on July 4. Pic/AP

A Russian military delegation arrived in Istanbul on Wednesday to meet their Ukrainian and Turkish counterparts and U.N. officials for talks on resuming exports of Ukrainian grain from the Black Sea port of Odesa as a global food crisis worsens.

Turkey has been working with the United Nations to broker a deal after Russia's Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine sent prices soaring for grains, cooking oils, fuel and fertilizer. Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar announced the latest talks on Tuesday.

"We are working hard indeed but there is still a way to go," U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters on Tuesday. "Many people are talking about it. We prefer to try and do it." Ukraine and Russia are major global wheat suppliers. Diplomats say details of the plan under discussion include Ukrainian vessels guiding grain ships in and out through mined port waters; Russia agreeing to a truce while shipments move; and Turkey - supported by the United Nations - inspecting ships to allay Russian fears of weapons smuggling.

Ukraine launched long-range rocket attacks on Russian forces in southern Ukraine and destroyed an ammunition store, its military said, as Russia continued to pound the country's east. The strike on Nova Kakhovka in the Kherson region killed 52 people, Ukraine's military said on Tuesday. The town's Russia-installed authorities said that at least seven people had been killed and around 70 injured. The death toll in a collapsed apartment block in town of Chasiv Yar has climbed to 43, emergency services said.

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