The EU's top diplomat hopes to strike a deal "this week" to allow Ukrainian grain exports from Black Sea ports, potentially unblocking food supplies to world markets, the FT reported.

“I have a hope that this week it will be possible to reach an agreement to unblock Odesa and other Ukrainian ports,” said Josep Borrell on Monday ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels. “The life of thousands, more than thousands, tens of thousands of people depends on this agreement. It is not a diplomatic game. It is an issue of life or death for many.”

Borrel spoke before a meeting of EU foreign ministers on Monday. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba will address the meeting and provide an update on talks between Ukraine, Russia and Turkey on efforts to conclude a grain export deal, a senior EU official told the Financial Times.

Diplomatic efforts to unblock grain exports have intensified in recent weeks. Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday in Tehran, where a deal on access to the Black Sea could be struck.