Four more ships carrying foodstuffs have left Ukrainian Black Sea ports, Turkey's Defense Ministry said on August 21, bringing the total number of vessels to leave Ukraine's Black Sea ports under a UN-brokered grain export deal to 31.
Before the agreement, brokered last month, Ukrainian grain exports were blocked for several months due to Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, raising fears of a global food crisis.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, speaking at a press conference in Istanbul on August 20, said that under the agreement to resume Ukraine's grain exports, more than 650,000 metric tons of grain and other food were already being exported.
He also said the United Nations is working with the United States and European Union to overcome obstacles to Russian food and fertilizers reaching world markets.
"The other part of this package deal is the unimpeded access to the global markets of Russian food and fertilizer, which are not subject to sanctions," Guterres said.