ANKARA

Turkish National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar and Ukraine’s Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov discussed the Black Sea grain deal in a phone call on Friday.

Akar and Kubrakov exchanged views on ensuring smooth operation of the grain corridor, the Turkish National Defense Ministry said in a statement.

The ministers expressed satisfaction over the work carried out at the Joint Coordination Center in Istanbul, it added.

Türkiye, the UN, Russia, and Ukraine signed a deal in Istanbul last July to resume grain exports from three Ukrainian Black Sea ports, which were paused after the Russia-Ukraine war began in February 2022.

A Joint Coordination Center with officials from the three countries and the UN was set up in Istanbul to oversee the shipments.

Some 866 ships have since carried more than 27 million tons of grain through the Black Sea corridor.