KYIV —
Ukraine said Monday it expects to
export its first grain shipments under a UN-backed deal to lift Russia’s
blockade “this week”, days after missile strikes by the Kremlin threw the
accord into doubt.
اضافة اعلان
Kyiv and Moscow on Friday agreed the landmark plan
to release millions of tonnes of grain trapped in Ukraine’s
Black Sea ports in
a move hailed as a major step to averting a global food crisis.
Less than 24 hours later Moscow struck the port in
Odessa — one of three exit hubs designated in the agreement — sparking fury in
Kyiv and heightening fears the Kremlin would not go through with the deal.
But despite the weekend attack, Ukraine’s infrastructure
minister Oleksandr Kubrakov told journalists Monday that Kyiv was still working
to restart exports and expected to see the agreement begin “working in the
coming days”.
“We are preparing
for everything to start this week,” said Kubrakov, who led Ukraine’s delegation
at last week’s grain talks in Istanbul.
Ukrainian officials said the port of Chornomorsk in
southwestern Ukraine would be the first to be opened and insisted on the
importance of security following the strike on nearby Odessa.
“Our position is very simple. We signed an agreement
with the UN and Turkey. If the sides guarantee security, the agreement will
work. If they do not, it will not work,” Kubrakov said.
He said that demining will take place “exclusively”
in the shipping lanes required for grain exports, while Ukrainian ships will
accompany the departing convoys that will transport not only grain but also
fertilizer.
Ukraine and Russia are major exporters of
agricultural products, but Moscow’s invasion has severely disrupted Ukrainian
wheat exports as the fighting damaged harvests and left ports blocked and
mined.
Russia’s naval blockade helped send global prices
soaring and sparked fears of famine as it left up to 25 million tonnes of wheat
and other grains stranded in Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has estimated
the value of grain stocks to be exported under the deal at around $10 billion.
Kremlin’s shifting narrative
The Kremlin insisted Monday
that its strikes on Odessa “should not affect” the Turkish-brokered push to
send the grain to world markets.
Spokesperson
Dmitry Peskov said Moscow’s cruise
missiles hit “exclusively” military infrastructure and were “not connected with
the agreement on the export of grain”.
Turkey, which helped broker the accord, said after
the attack that it had received assurances from Moscow that Russian forces were
not responsible.
Moscow then admitted that it had carried out the
strikes, but claimed to have targeted a Ukrainian military vessel and arms
delivered by Washington.
Russian Foreign Minister
Sergei Lavrov is visiting
Africa on a tour aimed at bolstering Moscow’s ties in the face of growing
isolation. Lavrov, who is visiting Uganda, Ethiopia, and Congo-Brazzaville,
told his Egyptian counterpart on his first stop that Russia would meet grain
orders.
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