Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov confirmed after the attack on the port city of Odessa that the international agreement on the export of Ukrainian grain across the Black Sea is valid. A control center in Istanbul will monitor passage through a sea corridor, Lavrov said on Sunday while visiting Egypt’s capital Cairo.
Delegates from Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the United Nations will be working in Istanbul. Russian and Turkish forces will work together to ensure the safety of the ships on the open seas, Lavrov said.
“When ships sail to Ukrainian ports to load new foodstuffs, it is checked that no one brings weapons to the ports,” Lavrov said. The minister recalled that two documents were signed in Istanbul on Friday, one on grain exports from Ukraine and another on Russian food and fertilizer exports.
Moscow complains that the European Union and the United States with their sanctions against Russia are slowing down Russian exports, although foodstuffs are not directly affected by the sanctions. According to Lavrov, UN Secretary-General António Guterres will work for the lifting of “illegal restrictions”. “We hope he succeeds.”
The heated situation in the food market due to the high prices can be cooled by the West, according to the Russian minister. To that end, only the sanctions that prevent Russia from exporting grain and fertilizers need to be lifted, Lavrov said.
READ ALSO. Turkey is working on coordination center for grain deal with Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul
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