Kyiv (agencies)
Kiev announced yesterday the operation of a grain export corridor, to allow dozens of cargo ships stranded in its ports since the outbreak of the Ukraine crisis last year, to sail into the Black Sea, where shipping routes have come under scrutiny since Russia withdrew from the grain export pact. It appears that the humanitarian corridor will apply, at least initially, to ships such as containers stuck in Ukrainian ports since the start of the crisis in February 2022 and were not covered by the agreement that opened Ukrainian Black Sea ports to grain shipments last year.
However, this corridor could be a major test of Ukraine’s ability to reopen sea lanes after Russia’s withdrawal from the grain deal last month.
“A new, temporary humanitarian corridor has come into operation,” said Oleh Chalyk, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Navy.
“The corridor will be very transparent. We will put cameras on the ships and there will be broadcasts to show that this is a purely humanitarian mission and has no military purposes,” he added.
The Navy said in a statement that the routes had already been proposed directly by Ukraine to the International Maritime Organization. These routes will be used “primarily by civilian ships moored in the Ukrainian ports of Chornomorsk, Odessa and Pivdenny since the beginning of the crisis on February 24, 2022.”
“Ships whose owners or captains officially confirm their willingness to sail in the current circumstances will be allowed to pass through the routes,” the statement said.
In the context, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba confirmed that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan could guarantee the resumption of the grain corridor agreement across the Black Sea. “I think President Erdogan can do that, we know that Turkish diplomacy is working with the Russians,” Kuleba said in statements to the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, regarding the possibility of resuming work with the Ukrainian grain transfer agreement across the Black Sea.
“At the same time, we are working on building alternative routes for exporting grain and other products without going through the Black Sea,” he added. Yesterday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the continuation of contacts with the concerned parties in order to re-implement the grain agreement in the Black Sea, calling on the concerned parties to fulfill their obligations. On July 22, 2022, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and the United Nations signed the Black Sea Initiative, known in the media as the “grain deal”, which requires the removal of Ukrainian grain and food products through the Black Sea from 3 ports, including the port of Odessa. The Russian Minister of Agriculture, Dmitry Patrushev, announced yesterday that Russia can, during the current agricultural season, supply 55 million tons or more of grain to the global market, including to Africa, if crop harvest expectations rise. Patrushev said, “If it comes to global food security, Russia has always contributed in this direction. Last year, we exported an unprecedented amount of grain, amounting to 60 million tons, and this has never happened in the history of our country,” according to the Sputnik news agency. ” yesterday.
He added, “This year we plan to export about 55 million tons of our crops. And the figure could change if harvest expectations rise, in terms of the amount of grain; We will adjust the special figure for export volumes as well.”
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