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Kuleba talks with Turkish minister, discusses Russia's withdrawal from grain deal

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Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Aug. 5 that he had held a phone call with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan to discuss Russia's withdrawal from the deal that allowed Ukraine to export grain from Black Sea ports.

"I stressed Russia's withdrawal's harmful impact on African countries and global food security," Kuleba said in his Twitter post.

The phone call comes as Kyiv and its Western allies urge Russia to resume its participation in the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which has allowed Ukraine to export millions of grain since it came into effect in August 2022.

Nearly a year after Ukraine and Russia signed the international agreement - a breakthrough brokered by the United Nations and Turkey in July 2022 - Russia said on July 17 that it was pulling out of the deal.

On July 19, the Russian Defense Ministry said that all vessels sailing to Ukrainian ports would be considered "potential carriers of military cargo" and therefore legitimate targets.

In October 2022, Russia also threatened to suspend its participation in the grain deal but made a U-turn decision a few days later.

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Asami Terajima

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Asami Terajima is a reporter at the Kyiv Independent covering Ukrainian military issues, front-line developments, and politics. She is the co-author of the weekly War Notes newsletter. She previously worked as a business reporter for the Kyiv Post focusing on international trade, infrastructure, investment, and energy. Originally from Japan, Terajima moved to Ukraine during childhood and completed her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration in the U.S. She is the winner of the Thomson Reuters Foundation's Kurt Schork Award in International Journalism 2023 (Local Reporter category) and the George Weidenfeld Prize, awarded as part of Germany's Axel Springer Prize 2023. She was also featured in the Media Development Foundation’s “25 under 25: Young and Bold” 2023 list of emerging media makers in Ukraine.

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