The main task of the coordination center is to monitor the safety of Ukrainian transports on established sea routes and supervise ship inspections to prevent the import and export of prohibited weapons.
The joint coordination center of Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the United Nations was officially opened in Istanbul today, Wednesday, whose task is to secure Ukraine’s grain shipments to the world. Ukrainian authorities estimate that grain shipments can be started this week.
– We hope that the center will make the best possible contribution to humanitarian needs and peace, said the Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar at the opening of the center.
Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the UN signed agreements to secure grain shipments last Friday. Ukraine and Russia each signed a separate agreement with Turkey and the UN
“We were worried too”
The agreements were in danger of becoming empty words on paper when Russia launched a missile attack on Ukraine’s most important grain shipping port, Odessa, right after the agreements were signed on Saturday.
– The attack in Odessa made everyone worried. We were worried too, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on Wednesday, news agency AFP reports.
– In the end, this was not a blow that would have prevented the operation of the port. But attacks like this must not happen again. We hope that the agreement will work without problems, Çavuşoğlu said.
Russia has claimed that the target of Saturday’s missile strike was military.
According to Ukraine, the missiles hit the part of the port where grain is stored. However, Ukraine has continued preparations to start grain shipments.
Both civilian and military personnel
The main task of the coordination center is to monitor the safety of Ukrainian transports on established sea routes and supervise ship inspections to prevent the import and export of prohibited weapons. Shipments are tracked using satellites, and ships are inspected by joint teams.
Both civilians and military personnel from Ukraine and Russia, as well as representatives of Turkey and the UN, work at the center. There are about 20 staff in total.
Up to 25 million tons of grain have accumulated in the silos of Ukrainian ports during the war months. It has not been exported since the Russian invasion. Last Friday, Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the UN signed grain transport agreements, whose compliance is monitored by the coordination center.
The UN estimates that almost 50 million people in the world are on the brink of acute famine as a direct result of the war. Ukraine and Russia took about a third of all the world’s wheat before the war.