Impoverished nations in Africa will be given priority regarding new grain shipments from Ukraine, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan says.
Mr Erdoğan told his party members in parliament that Russian President Vladimir Putin had suggested prioritising the poor countries, including Somalia, Djibouti and Sudan.
The Turkish president added that he agreed with Mr Putin’s idea.
He said Ankara’s diplomatic efforts helped convince Moscow to return to the grain deal.
“Following our call with Mr Putin yesterday, Russian Defence Minister Shoigu called our Defence Minister Hulusi Akar to say that grain shipments will continue as previously planned starting from 12 o’clock on Wednesday,” he said.
The Turkish Defence Ministry later confirmed that shipments had started at noon (0900 GMT) as promised.
(dpa/NAN)
