U.N. chief to meet Zelensky, Erdogan, with focus on grain exports

By Trend

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ukraine on Thursday, with grain exports and concerns about the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to top the agenda, Trend reports citing Reuters.

The three leaders will hold a joint news conference after their meetings in Lviv, an important transit point for Ukrainian refugees heading west to Europe. Guterres, who arrived in Lviv on Wednesday afternoon, plans on Friday to visit the Black Sea port of Odesa, where grain exports have resumed under a U.N.-brokered deal aimed at easing a worsening global food crisis.

On Saturday he will travel on to the Joint Coordination Centre in Istanbul that is made up of Russian, Ukrainian, Turkish and U.N. officials overseeing the Black Sea exports of Ukraine grain and fertilizer.

Three Black Sea ports were unblocked last month under a deal between Moscow and Kyiv, brokered by the United Nations and Turkey, making it possible to send hundreds of thousands of tonnes of Ukrainian grain to buyers.

Erdogan's office said he would address ways to increase exports of grain and steps that could be taken towards ending the war between Ukraine and Russia through diplomatic means.

Erdogan will also discuss "all aspects" of bilateral relations between Ankara and Kyiv during his meeting with Zelensky, his office said.

Another key topic will be the worrying situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.