MOSCOW, July 27. /TASS/. The first group of experts from the Russian Defense Ministry has already started working in Istanbul at the joint grain export coordination center, Mikhail Mizintsev, chief of Russia’s National Defense Management Center, said on Wednesday.
"As part of the implementation of the initiative on understanding on the safe transportation of grain from Ukrainian ports <...> an advance team of experts of the Russian Defense Ministry began work in Istanbul (Turkey) on July 26, 2022," said Mizintsev, who also heads the Russian Joint Coordination Headquarters for Humanitarian Response in Ukraine.
A package of documents geared towards resolving the issue of food and fertilizer supplies on global markets was signed on July 22 in Istanbul. Under the Russia-UN memorandum, the United Nations undertakes to work toward lifting anti-Russian restrictions hampering the exports of agricultural products and fertilizers. Another document envisages a mechanism of exporting grain from Ukraine-controlled Black Sea ports. An agreement between Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and the United Nations provides for the establishment of a four-party coordination center to search ships carrying grain in order to prevent weapons smuggling and avoid any false flag.