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4 Aug 2022, 18:58

Three ships with grain expected to set sail from Ukrainian ports on Friday

A package of documents aimed at resolving the issue of food and fertilizer supplies to global markets was signed in Istanbul on July 22

ANKARA, August 4./TASS/. Three ships carrying grain are expected to set sail from Ukrainian ports on Friday, August 5, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar told journalists on Thursday.

"As part of the intensive activity of the joint coordination center, three ships with grain are scheduled to leave Ukrainian ports tomorrow," the minister said.

Hulusi Akar also said that an empty Turkish dry cargo ship will sail to Ukraine to export grain after being inspected in Istanbul.

According to the TRT news channel, Akar discussed grain exports in a phone call on Thursday with Ukrainian counterpart Alexey Reznikov and Ukraine’s Minister of Infrastructure Alexander Kubrakov. He noted that the Joint Grain Export Coordination Center continued active work to implement the food deal signed in Istanbul by representatives from Turkey, Russia, Ukraine and the UN.

The Sierra-Leone flagged ship Razoni was the first shipment of grain exports, leaving Ukraine’s Odessa port on Monday. On Thursday, it left the territorial waters of Turkey and is heading for Lebanon, its destination. The ship is carrying about 27,000 tonnes of corn.

A package of documents aimed at resolving the issue of food and fertilizer supplies to global markets was signed in Istanbul on July 22. Under a Russia-UN memorandum, the United Nations will engage in efforts to lift anti-Russian restrictions preventing the export of agricultural products and fertilizers. Another document creates a mechanism to export grain from Ukraine-controlled Black Sea ports. The deal inked between Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and the UN provides for the establishment of a four-party coordination center whose representatives will inspect grain ships in order to prevent arms smuggling and false flag operations. The Joint Grain Export Coordination Center was launched in Istanbul on July 27.