Ukraine Grain Deal Expected Friday As Russian Gas Flows Resume

Kyiv, Ukraine, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Jul, 2022 ) :Ukraine and Russia are set to sign a deal Friday to unblock grain exports and relieve a global food crisis, as a critical Russian gas pipeline to Europe reopened.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres was due to arrive in Turkey on Thursday for the grain deal signing ceremony at Istanbul's lavish Dolmabahce Palace on the Bosphorus Strait.

The first major agreement between the two sides since the start of conflict in February comes with global food prices soaring and people in some of the world's poorest countries facing starvation.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's spokesman Ibrahim Kalin tweeted that the agreement will be signed in Istanbul on Friday under the auspices of the Turkish leader, Guterres and Ukrainian and Russian delegations.

The five-month armed conflict is going on across one of Europe's most fertile regions between two of the world's biggest producers of grain.

In more good news for global markets, Russia on Thursday restored critical gas supplies to Europe through Germany via the Nord Stream pipeline after 10 days of maintenance.

However, suspicion lingered that the Kremlin would trigger an energy crisis on the continent this winter.

Germany, which is heavily dependent on Russian gas, had feared that Moscow would not reopen the pipeline after the scheduled work and accused Moscow of using energy as a "weapon".

The resumption of gas supplies came a day after Europe unveiled emergency measures to circumvent Russian energy "blackmail".

Klaus Mueller, head of Germany's energy regulator, said that by late morning gas flows were on track to return to 40 percent of the pipeline's capacity -- the same reduced level as before the maintenance work.

EU states have accused Russia of squeezing supplies in retaliation for Western sanctions over the war.

Despite efforts within the bloc to reduce dependence on Russian energy supplies, Moscow's closest ally within the European Union, Hungary, announced Thursday it was seeking to increase gas deliveries from Russia.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia would "consider" Budapest's request for more gas this year after his Hungarian counterpart Peter Szijjarto visited Moscow Thursday.