Ukraine and Russia agree deal to resume grain exports through Ukraine's Black Sea ports
Russia's blockade of the ports reduced global grain supplies and increased prices
Food prices on commodity markets fell after news of the deal emerged
The deal was signed in Turkey, whose government brokered the deal alongside the UN
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres calls it an "agreement for the world" and a "beacon of hope"
He also tells the BBC it's probably the most important thing he's done as head of UN
Ukraine ruled out signing a direct deal with Russia - both sides signed "mirror" deals
The delegates have just finished signing today's deal which will allow some 20 million tonnes of grain, which has been subject to a Russian blockade, to be exported from Ukraine.
A deal to allow Ukraine to resume exports of grain has been signed in Istanbul.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has now taken to the stage, when he welcomes attendees to Istanbul.
"We are proud to be instrumental in an initiative that will play a major role in solving global food crisis that has been on the agenda for a long time," he says.
Today's deal will help with food security and controlling inflation around the world, he adds.
Guterres goes on to outline the pivotal role Turkey will have in implementing the deal.
He says Turkey is being counted on to maintain a critical role going forward, and pledges the full commitment of the UN to ensure the agreement's success.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has just started speaking and has described today's deal as "an agreement for the world".
He says the deal will help ease the global food crisis caused by the war in Ukraine.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres have just taken their seats.
We're waiting for the crucial grain deal to be signed - it should happen shortly. Meanwhile, here's the scene in Istanbul.
As it happens, the sides will not be signing the same piece of paper - they will sign "mirror deals" instead.
Former Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Lord Malloch-Brown, has told BBC Radio 4’s World at One the deal is “an important start” - and he points out it's a coup for Turkish diplomacy.
“Wheat prices have started to soften on international markets…a lot of this is about distribution problems and price and affordability problems," he said.
"That will only be sustained if the deal progresses and overcomes difficulties…I think we should celebrate it as an important start.
“Anyone who takes a flight from Africa to Istanbul will be amazed at the number of Turkish businessmen and civil servants on those flights.
"It’s an expression of the massive expansion of Turkey’s presence on the continent…making a real diplomatic push into the continent as well.
"This [deal] will sharply enhance its influence in Africa [which has been hit by rising food prices] while at the same time showing that, unlike its Nato allies, it still has capacity to influence Russia and Moscow.”
Dharshini David
Economics Correspondent
As we await confirmation of the Ukraine-Russia deal, here's some analysis from earlier, explaining why it's so important...
A deal is only the first step in a complex process - but it delivers some much needed hope.
Hope for Ukrainian farmers, who’ve typically been exporting only a fifth of the usual amount - with millions of tonnes of grain clogging up storage facilities needed for the current harvest.
Ukraine’s trade representative tells me production is running at 80% of normal level; it’s been less disrupted than feared. But that output needs to be shipped and sold, to enable farmers to think about the next planting season, and future harvests.
It also means hope for countries who’ve had to scrabble around for alternatives to the Ukrainian grain on which they’re so reliant.
And it's hope of the rest of us too - for an end to the spiking prices of our daily bread.
That’s dictated by wheat prices determined on international commodity markets, which are heavily influenced by sentiment.
But for that relief to last, action will have to swiftly follow.
Paul Adams
Diplomatic correspondent
Now the deal seems imminent, time is of the essence.
Ukraine needs to clear the backlog of unexported grain from its silos in and around Odesa, to make room for the next harvest.
That's already under way.
The President of the Association of Farmers and Landowners of Ukraine, Ivan Tomych, says 90% of barley has already been collected in the south, with the harvest of wheat and rapeseed almost finished.
Further north, in the Kyiv and Cherkasy regions, the process is just getting started.
Tomych says fighting has held up the harvest in some areas, with farmers encountering mines and being fired on while trying to bring their crops in.
The deal that's due to be signed in the next few minutes is undoubtedly good news for global food supply.
But even once it's agreed, there may be another barrier to exporting food from Ukraine.
John Stawpert, from the International Chamber of Shipping, has told BBC Radio 4's World at One programme that there aren't enough vessels in Ukrainian ports to ship the grain.
Stawpert said: "At the start of the war there were 2,000 seafarers stuck on ships in Ukrainian ports and in ports on the other side of the Crimea.
"That's now down to 450 so we'll have to look at how to effectively crew those vessels."
He said it's estimated you would need 400 bulk carriers to move all the grain - "that's not the number of ships that are in all those ports".
"[Here's the question] - is there the capacity to deal with that level of tonnage coming in and out of those ports in restricted corridors?
"We estimate that there are about 109 vessels currently stranded in those ports," Stawpert says.
Anna Foster
Reporting from Istanbul
Turkish TV is now broadcasting live pictures from the venue where the grain deal will be signed.
They show the flags of Turkey, the UN, Ukraine and Russia behind a long white table topped with a display of flowers.
Rows of chairs are slowly filling up with waiting journalists.
Image source, PA MediaThe blockade of Ukraine's grain has far-reaching consequences, affecting the cost of living around the world.
The prospect of the unblocking of over 20 million tonnes of Ukrainian grain have already led to a 2% drop in wheat prices today.
Blocking Ukraine's grain during the five-month war has caused a global food crisis with wheat-based products like bread and pasta becoming more expensive.
Cooking oils and fertiliser have also soared in price since the war began - but the deal could also allow those items to be exported more easily, too.
Many people in the UK will also have noticed an increase in the price of food items in recent months.
According to new figures from the UK's Office of National Statistics today - on the rising cost of living - half of all adults said they are buying less in a food shop.
The deal to unblock exports of grain from Ukraine through the Black Sea is set to be signed by Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the UN in the next hour.
Ukraine has ruled out signing a direct deal with Russia - saying that both countries will instead sign "mirror" deals.
The signing ceremony is due to take place at 14:30 BST in Istanbul. Stay here for news and reaction as it happens.
An MP for Odesa, the centre of Russia's grain blockade in Ukraine, is optimistic a deal will be reached today - but says he still doesn't trust the Kremlin due to past behaviour.
Oleksiy Goncharenko tells BBC World News "we don't believe in Russians" - adding that Russia will only sign a deal if they feel there is no other option.
"I am sure that [Vladimir] Putin will try to use this as leverage, he will do everything possible to make these shipments like teaspoon shipments, as a bottleneck. So we will see," he says.
Goncharenko adds that after the deal is signed, and once ships are available, Odessa could begin delivering the grain from next week.
He also says Ukraine "desperately needs weaponry and support" from the world.
Image source, .As we reported earlier, Ukraine's team met the UN delegation earlier in Turkey.
Via the Ukrainian government, here's a picture of Oleksandr Kubrakov, the Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine (on the left of the desk), and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (on the right) during those talks in Istanbul earlier today.
Russia's defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, has also arrived in Istanbul.
Image source, Reuters
Andrew Harding
reporting from near Slovyansk, eastern Ukraine
As we wait for news on the deal from Turkey, I've been speaking to farmers to the west of Slovyansk – a Ukrainian city about 15 miles from the eastern frontline, now being targeted daily by Russian rockets and artillery.
A boom, like distant thunder, rolls over the wheat fields.
Perched on his seat in a combine harvester, Vladimir Bukhantsev, 47, is waiting for the wheat to dry after a spot of rain.
“It’s noisy here. But life goes on," says Vladimir.
Suddenly, there's a shrieking roar as two Ukrainian fighter jets fly low, perhaps 25m above the field, directly overhead.
“They fly like that almost every day. It gets lively here. The pilots do their job. We do ours. Everyone is busy. But their work is harder,” Vladimir says.
Despite the constant dangers and plummeting grain prices, farmers like Vladimir continue to bring in the harvest.
Most have already sent their families to safety, further east.
Sergei Kurinniy, owner of the KramAgroSvit farm near the village of Dmytrivka, describes clambering down the side of a crater, perhaps 4m deep, left by a huge Russian rocket on Thursday, just hours after 30 people were evacuated on a bus.
“The Russians talk about high-precision targeting. So much for that. This one could easily have hit our village,” the 58-year-old tells me.
Kurinniy’s farm has more than 3,400 hectares of wheat and sunflower seeds, and cattle too - although he’s closed that side of the business down after rockets hit a cattle shed, killing more than 20 animals.
Another rocket missed the farm offices by a few metres, shattering windows.
“It’s very dangerous, of course. But we’re continuing," he says.
"Our major concern is that the price we receive for our products is lower than usual. Last year we sold wheat for about 300 dollars a ton. Now it’s 100 dollars.
"And the cost of fuel has risen three-fold. Then you have to add in fertilisers, seeds, pesticides, taxes, wages. So this year we’re likely to make no profits.
"And at any moment we can be bombarded and everything will burn.
“We usually export 90% of our crops. We need this blockade to be lifted. But not at any price."
The harvest in Donetsk province this year is expected to be less than half the size of last year’s.
We reported earlier that Ukraine's presidential adviser, Mykhaylo Podolyak, said Ukraine would not sign a direct deal with Russia - with both sides agreeing "mirror" deals instead.
Now we have some more lines from Podolyak. He says any "provocations" by Russia over the implementation of the grain deal will be met with a "military response".
Podolyak says there will be "no transport escort by Russian ships and no presence of Russia's representatives" in Ukrainian ports.
"All inspections of transport ships will be carried out by joint groups in Turkish waters in the event of such a need," he adds.
Dharshini David
Economics Correspondent
A deal is only the first step in a complex process - but it delivers some much needed hope.
Hope for Ukrainian farmers, who’ve typically been exporting only a fifth of the usual amount - with millions of tonnes of grain clogging up storage facilities needed for the current harvest.
Ukraine’s trade representative tells me production is running at 80% of normal level; it’s been less disrupted than feared. But that output needs to be shipped and sold, to enable farmers to think about the next planting season, and future harvests.
It also means hope for countries who’ve had to scrabble around for alternatives to the Ukrainian grain on which they’re so reliant. And it's hope of the rest of us too - for an end to the spiking prices of our daily bread.
That’s dictated by wheat prices determined on international commodity markets, which are heavily influenced by sentiment.
But for that relief to last, action will have to swiftly follow.
Ukraine will sign an agreement only with Turkey and the UN on resuming grain exports from the Black Sea, according to a government spokesperson.
Speaking before today's signing, presidential aide Mykhaylo Podolyak ruled out any direct deals with Russia.
"Ukraine does not sign any documents with Russia. We will sign an agreement with Turkey and the UN," he said on Twitter, adding that Russia would be signing a separate "mirror" agreement.