ISTANBUL (dpa-AFX) – The control center agreed by Russia and Ukraine to monitor Ukrainian grain exports has been officially opened in Istanbul. Turkey believes the center will make a significant contribution to overcoming the food crisis, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said at the opening ceremony in Istanbul on Wednesday.
Preparations are underway for the first ship loaded with grain to leave Ukraine via the Black Sea. Ships should be checked when passing through the Bosphorus Strait, i.e. when entering and exiting the Black Sea, to ensure that they have no weapons or the like loaded. The coordination center will register the merchant ships and track their movements via satellite, among other things, Akar said.
The center is part of an agreement brokered by the United Nations and Turkey on Friday in Istanbul to lift the blockade of Ukrainian ports. According to Akar, the center has been in operation since Saturday. Akar took the fact that Ukraine, Russia and the UN sent representatives just one day after it was signed as a sign of their determination to implement the agreement. Civilians and military workers worked in the center – five representatives from each party, Akar said.
In the agreement on Friday, Russia had pledged to let ships sail through a sea corridor and not to attack them or the ports involved. Before the Russian war of aggression, Ukraine was one of the most important grain exporters in the world. However, because of the war, more than 20 million tons of grain could not be exported from Ukraine./jam/DP/ngu