Turkey is nearing an agreement to remove the Ukrainian grain blockade.

Turkey announced a deal to restart Ukrainian grain exports that had been halted by Russia in the Black Sea.

It boosts expectations for a resolution to the deadlock, which has put millions at danger of hunger.

Hulusi Akar, Turkey's defence minister, stated that all parties had agreed on strategies to protect the safety of grain transport routes.

He stated that the deal will be inked next week, when additional meetings are scheduled to take place in Turkey.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres termed the progress made on Wednesday a "important step forward."

He stated that further work would be required to finalize the transaction, which would include "a lot of goodwill and pledges from all stakeholders."

Ukraine has been able to ship part of its grain by road and rail, and a new naval route across the Danube estuary is being developed. However, just 2.5 million tones were shipped last month, well below the eight million-tone average before the war, and millions more are awaiting shipment in the Ukrainian port of Odesa.

Russia's Black Sea navy is believed to be preventing any supplies from entering or leaving the country, and the BBC has recorded accumulating evidence that Moscow's military seized and exported Ukrainian grain. Other roads have been overburdened by mining.

Ukraine is enthusiastic about an agreement to reopen the Black Sea.

However, during his evening speech from Kyiv on Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appeared to strike an upbeat tone.

"The Ukrainian delegation informed me that there has been progress. We will finalize the specifics with the UN Secretary-General in the coming days "He stated.

Prior to the announcement of success, officials stated that discussions included preparations for Ukrainian warships to assist grain shipments into and out of mined port waters.

It was also stated that Russia would be asked to observe a cease-fire while cargo were being moved, and that Turkey, with UN backing, would volunteer to examine ships to alleviate Russian suspicions of weapons smuggling.

A grain trade, but nothing else

It's critical not to get carried away. This initial grain agreement is obviously welcome news, particularly for the millions of people throughout the world who rely on Ukrainian exports for their daily bread.

However, an agreement to open the Black Sea and a larger peace treaty are two quite different things. To reach a deal in Turkey, all parties will have had to make sacrifices, but neither side will have had to make any fundamental concessions. To make this arrangement work, there is no humiliating climbdown or swallowing of pride.

In summary, a solution that was generally acceptable to all parties existed.

The same cannot be stated for any hypothetical peace agreement. The goals of both sides are so fundamentally opposed, so mutually incompatible, that no viable compromise position can be established, and hence the conflict will probably likely continue.

Most likely, peace discussions will take place only after one party realizes it has lost on the battlefield, or can no longer maintain the path. At that point, it may be more of a conditional capitulation than a negotiated compromise.

Russia and Ukraine contribute 30% of the world's wheat supply. Prior to the conflict, Ukraine was regarded as the world's breadbasket, with its ports exporting 4.5 million tones of agricultural produce each month.

And, while Ukraine has managed to secure some exports through alternative channels, they have only partially compensated for the Black Sea closure, with export volumes falling to around 30% of pre-war levels.

Mr. Guterres warned in May that the Russian embargo posed a risk of "tipping tens of millions of people over the edge into food instability, followed by malnutrition, mass hunger, and catastrophe."

"If we all work together, there will be enough food in the world. However, unless we address this issue now, we will face a global food crisis in the coming months "He said.

In June, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of using the embargo to "hold the world to ransom."

"It's completely indefensible," he remarked. "That supply might aid people all throughout the world, including some of the world's poorest countries."

Despite reports of progress in grain talks, Russia has resumed bombardment of several major Ukrainian cities.

Ukrainian officials reported persistent Russian bombardment over the eastern Donetsk Oblast, which Moscow is attempting to seize in order to complete its takeover of the industrialized Donbas area of eastern Ukraine.

Last month, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu informed President Vladimir Putin that his forces had accomplished the first part of the operation by taking the province of Luhansk.

Meanwhile, near Kherson in the south. According to Russian official media, Ukrainian forces have resumed their onslaught in the region, firing six missiles against the city of Nova Khakova.

In the early days of the invasion, Kherson was the first major city to fall to Russia. Kyiv's army have been gradually encroaching on its outskirts in recent weeks.