Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will travel to Istanbul this Friday and will be received by his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish media reported Thursday.
According to the official Sabah newspaper, the two leaders will address, among other issues, the agreement on Ukrainian cereal exports, signed in July 2022 in Istanbul with the sponsorship of the United Nations and Turkey.
The current extension of the agreement, which was also signed by Russia, ends on July 17.
In recent days, Moscow has said it sees “no reason” to extend the deal.
Russia has challenged obstacles to another deal signed in July last year, also under the auspices of the UN and Turkey, on its exports of fertilizers and food products, claiming that its agricultural sector is harmed by Western-imposed sanctions.
On Wednesday, the UN assured that it would continue to make efforts so that Russia agrees to extend the agreement that allows the export of grain from Ukraine to international markets, although it acknowledged that there are “problems to be resolved.”
Zelensky’s trip to Istanbul comes four days before the start of the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, where the war in Ukraine will be discussed. Türkiye is one of the 31 states that make up the Atlantic Alliance.
The Ukrainian president arrived in Sofia (Bulgaria) on Thursday for a one-day official visit, with the aim of discussing kyiv’s accession to the Atlantic Alliance.
Source: TSF
