Ukraine's government wants the deal that led to the easing of Russia's naval blockade of its ports and the resumption of grain exports via the Black Sea and the Bosphorus to be extended to include other products, notably metals, it says in its current publication the Financial Times newspaper.
"The agreement concerns logistics, the movement of ships in the Black Sea," Taras Kaska, Ukraine's deputy minister of economy, explained to the financial newspaper. “What's the difference between grain and iron ore?” asked Mr. Kaska.
Meanwhile, three new cargoes of grain departed by ship this morning from Ukraine and another cargo ship headed empty to Ukrainian shores, as part of a series of regular routes to resupply agricultural markets, the Turkish Defense Ministry said.
The three ships, loaded with maize, are heading to Ireland, England and Turkey, the ministry said in a statement.
At the same time a cargo ship, the Barbados-flagged Fulmar, is sailing to the port of Chernomorsk to load grain, the ministry said. The ships are monitored by the Joint Coordination Center created in Istanbul under the international agreement signed on July 22 in Istanbul.
Russia and Ukraine signed two separate agreements, ratified by Turkey and the United Nations, allowing Ukrainian grain exports that had been halted since February 24 because of the war, as well as Russian agricultural exports, despite Western sanctions.
Panamanian-flagged Navistar left Odessa for Ireland with 33.000 tonnes of maize; Maltese-flagged Rojen bound for England from Chernomorsk with 13.000 tonnes.
The Joint Coordination Center had clarified during the night that the destinations of the ships are Ringaskiddy in Ireland and Teesport in the United Kingdom.
Finally, the Turkish cargo ship Polarnet, which was in Chernomorsk, is heading to Karasu, a Turkish port on the Black Sea, with 12.000 tons of maize. This last ship "will be inspected by the joint inspection team north of Istanbul" before reaching Karasou, the ministry said.
The Turkish Ministry of Defense also clarified by posting on Twitter that "the team of the Joint Coordination Center has finished the inspection of the Fulmar, which will load in the Ukrainian port of Chernomorsk."
Those inspections have been demanded by Russia, which wants to make sure the ships aren't carrying anything other than their approved cargoes of grain.
kathimerini.gr