“The UN Secretariat and the Joint Coordination Center report that the delegations of Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations have agreed not to plan any movement of ships under the Black Sea Grains Initiative for tomorrow, November 2,” said Sprecher Farhan Haq in New York on Tuesday.
He emphasized that the suspension of the Moscow agreement was a “temporary and exceptional measure”. The break in shipping traffic is also a “temporary measure” – until further notice it is only about Wednesday.
Erdogan was confident
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had previously expressed “confidence” that the grain agreement would be fully reinstated. A “solution-oriented cooperation” could be established, according to a statement by the Turkish Communications Ministry after Erdogan had called Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday. A solution to the “grain crisis” could also stimulate a return to negotiations, Erdogan was quoted as saying.
Putin himself demanded “real guarantees” from Ukraine that it would not use the shipping corridors for military action. Only then can a resumption of work within the framework of the grain agreement be considered.
On Saturday, Russia suspended the agreement mediated by Turkey and the UN. Moscow cited drone attacks by Kiev on its Black Sea fleet as justification. Ukraine used the protection of the corridor for these attacks. In addition, ships that were used to protect the grain convoys were also attacked.
The export of Ukrainian grain as part of the initiative initially continued. The control center set up under the agreement in Istanbul announced that three freighters had left Ukrainian ports on Tuesday. The control of ships around Istanbul is currently carried out without inspectors from Ukraine and Russia and only by representatives of the UN and Turkey. UN coordinator Amir Abdulla is continuing talks with Russia, Ukraine and Turkey to secure full participation in the coordination center, it said in a statement.
Source: Nachrichten
