Guaranteeing safety of Ukrainian grain exports lies with Turkey and UN, - Zelensky
President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that Ukraine will start exporting grain through the Black Sea in accordance with the agreements signed in Istanbul.
This is reported by Censor.NET with reference to Interfax-Ukraine.
"We have prepared everything. From our side, the corridor is operational, in our waters it is controlled by Ukraine and inspections (vessels - ed.) in them will be carried out only by Ukrainians... We will definitely start exporting to once again prove to the whole world that it is not Ukraine that disrupts exports These are the narratives that the Russian side is spreading today as disinformation," Zelensky said at a briefing with the president of Guatemala in Kyiv.
At the same time, according to him, further guaranteeing the safety of Ukrainian grain exports rests with Turkey and the United Nations, with whom relevant agreements have been concluded.
"We trust Turkey and the UN, with whom we have signed relevant documents regarding the export of grain, and they should take care of the safety of the ships of other states that have agreed to transport grain, corn, and barley to other countries," the president said.
In this context, Zelensky also emphasized that the liberation of Zmiiny Island is an important factor in controlling the safety of other grain transportation corridors.
"This is important in terms of security control of other grain transportation corridors, and then the question for the UN and Turkey is how much they will be able to control the Russian Federation, which, as it turned out, can fire missiles even after agreements," Zelensky added.
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.
The next day, the Russian Federation officially admitted that it had launched a missile attack on the port of Odessa. Allegedly, Kalibr missiles "destroyed the object of the military infrastructure of the Odesa port" and a military boat.
