A Black Sea grain corridor became a new goal in Saturday’s Istanbul talks, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy saying Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had agreed to work on it, Anadolu Ajansı reported.
At a joint news conference after the meeting, Zelenskyy said the two leaders had agreed to pursue the corridor. Zelenskyy described Turkish backing for more secure Black Sea passage and a return to everyday life in the region.
Before the talks, Zelenskyy had raised Black Sea shipping as an issue for the Istanbul meeting. The region’s earlier grain-shipping arrangement, the Black Sea Grain Initiative, was launched in Istanbul in 2022 by Russia, Türkiye, Ukraine and the United Nations. It set procedures for shipping grain, other food and fertilizer from designated Ukrainian ports. The U.N. said the arrangement was not renewed after its third term ended July 17, 2023.
