UN did not report that shelling of Odesa port by Russia is not technical violation of "grain agreement", only Guterres' statement reflects position of organization, - MFA
The United Nations denied a comment by an unnamed source to The New York Times about the shelling of the Odesa port.
As Censor.NET informs about this with reference to Facebook page of the speaker of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Oleh Nikolenko.
"Yesterday, The New York Times published a provocative piece of news, Ukrainian mass media reprinted it. An allegedly unnamed source at the UN claims that the Russian Federation technically did not violate the grain agreement signed in Istanbul with a missile attack on the port of Odesa. They said that Russia did not promise not to shell those parts of Ukrainian ports that are not directly involved in the export of grain. To put it mildly, we were surprised by such a position. First of all, it is inconsistent with the statement of Secretary General António Guterres, who unconditionally condemned the shelling of Odesa port. Secondly, the international community was also unanimous, clearly pointing out Russia's violation of its obligations within the framework of ensuring the safe functioning of the port infrastructure for the export of grain. We immediately turned to the UN leadership for clarification. We have been assured today that an off-the-record comment by an "unnamed source" to The New York Times does not reflect the position of the UN. Only the statement of Secretary-General Guterres reflects the organization's position," the spokesman said.
He noted that through such "unnamed sources" a "provocative narrative" was launched.
"It was done intentionally or unintentionally - the question is open," Nikolenko added.
The day before, a comment by an "unnamed UN official" to The New York Times was widely circulated on the Internet, Radio Svoboda notes. He allegedly said that Russia "may not have technically violated" the agreements signed in Istanbul regarding unblocking the export of grain from Ukraine by sea with its missile attack on the port of Odesa. The thesis was indicated that the Russian Federation apparently did not undertake to refrain from strikes on those parts of Ukrainian ports that are not directly involved in the export of grain.
We will remind, on July 22, Ukraine, Turkey and the UN signed an agreement on the export of grain. The document provides for the restoration of safe export of Ukrainian agricultural goods through the Black Sea from three ports: Odesa, Chornomorsk, and Southern.
According to the Prime Minister of Ukraine, Denys Shmyhal, unblocking sea ports is a multibillion-dollar issue for the Ukrainian economy.
On July 23, the Russian occupying forces hit Odesa with Kalibr missiles'. A sea trade port was hit. The shock wave damaged the surrounding houses, but the grain store was not damaged.
UN Secretary General António Guterres condemned the shelling of the Odesa port and emphasized the importance of overcoming the food crisis
