President Erdogan says he wants Black Sea Ukrainian grain corridor deal to be put in writing this week

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said he wants a possible deal on resuming Ukrainian grain exports from the Black Sea under a United Nations-led plan to be put in writing this week after a general agreement was reached last week, according to the text shared by the Turkish presidency on Wednesday.

On Monday, Ankara said a meeting between Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the UN would "probably" be held this week.

"An agreement emerged from the talks in Istanbul last week on the general outline of the process under the UN plan. Now, we want to tie this agreement to a written document," Erdogan told reporters on a return flight from Tehran, where he met his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

"We hope the plan will begin to be implemented in the coming days," Erdogan added.

He also said Turkey and Russia, maritime neighbours in the Black Sea, would continue their solidarity on natural gas and the Akkuyu nuclear power plant, adding he had also discussed the procurement of amphibious airplanes from Russia with Putin.

(Reuters)