ANKARA, April 4. /TASS/. The implementation of the Istanbul agreements about food exports from Ukraine has helped to avert a global food crisis, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday, at a dinner for foreign ambassadors at a presidential palace in Ankara.

"Thanks to the implementation of the grain deal, we have been able to prevent a global food crisis. The initiative to establish a Black Sea grain corridor has showed that, despite the war conditions, there are preconditions to hold talks and reach agreements," he said.

Erdogan expressed hope for a just settlement of the Ukrainian crisis. He said that could be helped by regular communication with the presidents of Russia and Ukraine, Vladimir Putin and Vladimir Zelensky.

"We speak almost every week and believe in a just settlement of the crisis," the Turkish president said. "I hope it will be possible to find a solution that will allow both sides [of the conflict] to come out of it with dignity and ensure a just peace in the region."

Agreements to export food from Ukraine were signed on July 22, 2022 in Istanbul to last 120 days and were extended for another 120 days in November. One of the agreements sets forth a procedure for the export of grain from Kiev-controlled ports of Odessa, Chernomorsk and Yuzhny. Russia and the UN also concluded a memorandum for the UN to work toward lifting the restrictions on the export of Russian agricultural products and fertilizers to world markets. Moscow has said the memorandum hasn’t been fulfilled. Russia announced on March 18 that the deal was extended for another 60 days, warning that this would be ample time to evaluate the execution of the memorandum that had been signed with the UN.