UK’s Truss says Ukraine grain shipment “important first step”
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Britain’s Foreign Secretary Liz Truss called the first grain shipment from the Ukrainian port of Odesa since Russia’s invasion in February an “important first step,” and called on Moscow not to “weaponise global food supplies”.
“These ships must receive safe passage. There must be no repeat of Russia’s shelling of the port of Odesa,” Truss said in a statement on Twitter. “The only way Putin can truly alleviate the global food security crisis he has created is by ending his brutal invasion of Ukraine.”
The sailing was made possible after Turkey and the United Nations brokered a grain and fertiliser export agreement between Russia and Ukraine last month – a rare diplomatic breakthrough in a conflict that has become a drawn-out war of attrition.
The Sierra Leone-flagged ship Razoni will head to the port of Tripoli, Lebanon, after transiting the Bosphorus Strait linking the Black Sea, which is dominated by Russia’s navy, to the Mediterranean. It is carrying 26,527 tonnes of corn.
Ukraine, known as Europe’s breadbasket, hopes to export 20 million tonnes of grain in silos and 40 million tonnes from the harvest now underway, initially from Odesa and nearby Pivdennyi and Chornomorsk, to help clear the silos for the new crop.
Moscow has denied responsibility for the food crisis, blaming Western sanctions for slowing its exports and Ukraine for mining the approaches to its ports. The Kremlin called the Razoni’s departure “very positive” news.
Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said the vessel would anchor off Istanbul on Tuesday afternoon and be inspected by Russian, Ukrainian, United Nations and Turkish representatives.
