Turkey will continue its efforts under the so-called grain initiative to export grain from Ukraine through the Black Sea Humanitarian Corridor, despite Russia’s hesitations, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday.
Even if Russia is in insecurity (…), we will resolutely pursue our efforts in the service of humanity – he said in a speech Erdogan.
The Turkish leader added that thanks to the grain initiative, the global food crisis has been alleviated and 9.3 million tons of food have been distributed in world markets.
The UN said the first of 40 ship inspections scheduled for Monday was carried out in Istanbul waters by a team comprising only UN and Turkish monitors. Ahead of Saturday’s decision to withdraw from the grain initiative by Russia, representatives from Kyiv and Moscow also joined the ship monitoring teams.
The agreement on the safe export of Ukrainian products via the Black Sea was signed on July 22 in Istanbul by representatives of Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the United Nations. The agreement was concluded for 120 days, ie until November 19, with the possibility of extension.
Despite Russia’s withdrawal of the initiative, 12 grain cargo ships left Ukraine on Monday and crossed the Black Sea Humanitarian Sea Corridor to Turkey. Four other ships are due to leave for Ukrainian ports, also on Monday.
kjm /evil/
