Egypt accepts new vessel carrying stolen Ukrainian wheat, Foreign Ministry says
Despite repeated warnings, the vessel ASOMATOS was allowed to unload 26,900 tonnes of stolen Ukrainian wheat in Abu Qir. This is already the fourth case of Russia laundering stolen Ukrainian grain through Egyptian ports since April.
This was reported by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, Censor.NET informs.
Details
ASOMATOS was allowed to unload even though five days earlier, Ukraine’s Prosecutor General had sent an official request for legal assistance to Egypt’s Ministry of Justice regarding this illegal cargo, exported by the sanctioned Agro-Fregat through occupied Crimea, and provided all necessary data and legal grounds for arresting the vessel and its cargo.
Ukraine’s official position
"Ukraine is a country that for many years played the role of a reliable guarantor of Egypt’s food security, and we do not understand why our Egyptian partners repay us by continuing to accept stolen Ukrainian grain.
"Moreover, we remind Egypt and all other countries that Ukraine endured a genocide by starvation in the last century, when Moscow ordered grain to be taken from our people. Now, as Moscow steals our grain again, this evokes the worst memories," Sybiha stressed.
He also called on Egyptian partners to comply with international law, their own promises to Ukraine, and the principles of bilateral relations.
"Stolen goods from occupied territories must be confiscated, not accepted. Looting is not trade, but complicity that only fuels further aggression," the minister concluded.
Background
- It was earlier reported that Israel had accepted a vessel carrying grain from the occupied territories of Ukraine.
- It later emerged that Israel had accepted another vessel with stolen Ukrainian grain.
- The European Commission contacted Israel regarding vessels carrying Ukrainian grain stolen by Russia.
- The EU is preparing sanctions over supplies of stolen Ukrainian grain to Israel.
