ISTANBUL, July 27 (Xinhua) -- Türkiye inaugurated the Joint Coordination Center in Istanbul on Wednesday to monitor the implementation of the grain shipment process from Ukraine, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar told reporters.
Located inside the big compound of a military university in the city's European side district of Besiktas, the center consists of 20 representatives from Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations, five from each party, according to Akar.
This will guarantee the safe passage of vessels from Ukrainian ports through the Black Sea and the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul to global markets, said the Turkish minister.
The Black Sea Grain Initiative, signed respectively by Russia and Ukraine with Türkiye under the UN auspices on Friday in Istanbul, would allow significant volumes of food and fertilizer exports from three key Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea, namely Odessa, Chernomorsk and Yuzhny. ■