UNITED NATIONS, October 4. /TASS/. A full-scale resumption of the grain deal will be a lot safer and more stable route for grain imports than the Kiev government’s attempts to organize temporary transportation corridors in the Black Sea, the UN secretary-general’s spokesman has said.
Commenting on earlier reports about three bulk carriers that left Ukrainian ports, Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric has told reporters: "We continue to believe that a resumed Black Sea Initiative, along with the MOU [Memorandum of Understanding with Russia], would increase the volume in a stable manner and safer manner."
Dujarric added that the UN is "not involved in monitoring the ships that are going out through the Black Sea."
On August 10, the Ukrainian Navy announced the opening of temporary corridors in the Black Sea for merchant vessels sailing to/from the ports of Chernomorsk, Odessa and Yuzhny. Kiev warned that the risk of military attack and collision with mines persisted on the route, so passage would be granted only to vessels whose owners and captains officially confirm their readiness to sail in such conditions. It was stated that the pathways would be primarily used to allow exit to the civilian vessels that had been stranded in these Ukrainian ports since the end of February 2022.
The grain deal expired on July 17. Later, the Russian Defense Ministry warned that from July 20, Moscow would view all the ships sailing across the Black Sea to Ukrainian ports as potentially shipping military cargoes, and their flag countries would be considered as involved in the Ukrainian conflict on Kiev’s side. Additionally, some areas in the international waters of the northwestern and southeastern Black Sea are considered to be temporarily dangerous for navigation.