ISTANBUL, Aug 1 (Reuters) - The first ship carrying grain to leave Ukraine under a safe passage agreement will anchor off the coast of Istanbul around 1200 GMT on Tuesday for a joint inspection, Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said on Monday. Akar was speaking in an interview with Turkey's state-owned Anadolu news agency after the Sierra Leone-flagged ship Razoni, which is loaded with corn, left the Ukrainian port of Odesa for Lebanon. As part of the agreement, a Joint Coordination Centre was set up in Istanbul with personnel from the United Nations, Russia, Ukraine and Turkey. Reporting by Ali Kucukgocmen; Writing by Daren Butler; Editing by Louise HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Persons: Hulusi Akar, Akar, Ali Kucukgocmen, Daren Butler, Louise Heavens Organizations: Turkish Defence, Anadolu, Sierra, United, Thomson Locations: ISTANBUL, Ukraine, Istanbul, Sierra Leone, Odesa, Lebanon, United Nations, Russia, Turkey