INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Russia and Ukraine on Friday signed a landmark deal with the United Nations and Turkey on resuming grain shipments that could ease a global
food crisis in which millions face hunger.Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov
each signed separate but identical agreements with UN and Turkish officials on reopening blocked Black Sea delivery routes, at a ceremony
witnessed by AFP.Ukrainian officials said they did not want to put their name on the same document as the Russians because of the five-month
war.Diplomats expect grain to start fully flowing for the first time since Russia's invasion of its Western-backed neighbor by the middle of
Antonio Guterres said as the deal was signed after months of laborious negotiations that threatened to break down several times."It will
bring relief for developing countries on the edge of bankruptcy and the most vulnerable people on the edge of famine," Guterres said.The
United Nations estimates that an additional 47 million people began to face "acute hunger" as a direct consequence of the war.Turkish
would pave the way for eventual peace in Ukraine."This joint step we are taking with Ukraine and Russia will hopefully revive the path to
peace," the Turkish leader said.The war is being fought across one of Europe's most fertile regions by two of the world's biggest producers
of grain.But Russian warships and Ukrainian mines laid across the sea to avert an amphibious assault have blocked exports and left up to 25
million tons of wheat and other grain in danger of rotting in ports and silos.UN officials say it was quickly decided that de-mining the
area would take too long to relieve the threat of starvation spreading to some of the poorest parts of the world.The deal agreed through UN
and Turkish mediation establishes safe corridors along which Ukrainian ships can come in and out of three designated Black Sea ports in and
around Odessa.Both sides also pledged not to attack ships on the way in or out.Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhaylo Podolyak warned
Russian breaches of the deal and incursions around Ukraine's ports would be met with "an immediate military response."A joint command and
control centre will be set up in Istanbul to oversee smooth operations and resolve disputes.But all the pieces may not start coming together
UN officials say Ukraine may send out a few ships at first to make sure the deal works."We're talking about a few weeks before we'll see a
proper implementation of vessels going in and out," one UN official said.
