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NATO welcomes first shipment of Ukrainian grain from Odessa

The secretary general also thanked NATO member country Turkey "for its pivotal role"

BRUSSELS, August 1./TASS/. NATO welcomes the first shipment of Ukrainian grain from Odessa and urges the full implementation of the deal on grain exports, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg wrote on Twitter on Monday.

"I welcome the 1st shipment of Ukrainian grain from Odessa under the UN-brokered deal," Stoltenberg blogged. "Allies strongly support the full implementation of the deal to ease the global food crisis," he said.

The secretary general also thanked NATO member country Turkey "for its pivotal role". Stoltenberg believes grain shipments will help to ease the global food crisis, blaming it on Russia and its special military operation to denazify and demilitarize Ukraine and failing to mention the role of the western sanctions that have sent up global food and energy prices.

"The Sierra Leone-flagged Razoni ship left the port of Odessa at about 9:20 am Moscow time on August 1 as part of an initiative aimed at ensuring the safe transportation of Ukrainian grain and food products from Ukrainian ports. The Razoni ship, loaded with corn, is scheduled to arrive in the waters of the Istanbul port on August 2," the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on Monday. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the maritime corridor where the ship is moving passes through the northwestern part of the Black Sea.

On July 22, Russian Defense Minister Army General Sergey Shoigu participated in the signing of a package of documents aimed at resolving the issue of food and fertilizer supplies to global markets. 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.

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