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United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have accepted an invitation from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to meet on Thursday to review a deal allowing the shipment of Ukrainian grain to world markets and diplomatic methods can be discussed. War going on for six months.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters on Tuesday that he had no doubt that the three leaders would also discuss the situation at the Zaporizhia nuclear plant, which Russians and Ukrainians have accused each other of shelling.

Dujarric said they would likely also talk about a UN mission to investigate the deaths at the Olenivka prison in a different region of eastern Ukraine, which is also the subject of mutual accusations between Russians and Ukrainians.

He said he hoped that during the meeting in the western city of Lviv, not far from the Polish border, the “need for a political solution” to the war would be raised.

The meeting follows the signing of an international agreement in Istanbul on 22 July that clears the way for Ukraine to export 22 million tonnes of corn and other grains that have been in the Black Sea since Russia invaded the country in February. Stuck in ports and silos. 14.

A separate memorandum signed by Russia and the United Nations on the same day was aimed at removing barriers to the export of Russian food and fertilizer to world markets.

Erdogan’s government office confirmed that Erdogan will meet Zelensky and Guterres in Lviv on Thursday to discuss the grain deal and how to end the war through diplomatic channels.

Dujarric said the Secretary-General’s visit to Ukraine is “an opportunity for him to see firsthand the results of an initiative … which is of grave importance to millions of people.”

Dujarric said that following a trilateral meeting and possible bilateral talks between Erdogan and Guterres, the UN Secretary-General will visit Odessa on Friday, one of three Ukrainian ports now working for grain shipments. He will then travel to Istanbul on Saturday to visit the Black Sea Shipping Coordination Center, which includes all four parties to the agreement: Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the United Nations.

Zelensky did not invite Russia to the meeting in Lviv.

Tags: Ukraine, Russia, Turkey, grain, world markets, Black Sea, United Nations, shipment