Starting from October 14, 2022, Russian inspectors of the Joint Coordination Center in Istanbul have significantly delayed the inspection of vessels heading to Ukrainian ports to load grain or already loaded and heading to their final destination. As a result of the actions of the Russian Federation, more than 165 vessels are now stuck in a queue near the Bosphorus Strait, and their number is increasing every day, reports “ProAgro Group” with reference to the statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
“We have reason to believe that delays in inspections of grain initiative vessels by Russia are politically motivated. Recently, the Russian leadership has tried to question the activities of the grain corridor without legal grounds, demanding new concessions for Moscow’s consent to extend the grain agreement,” the statement said.
The Foreign Ministry stressed that Russia’s actions undermine global food security, particularly in the Global South. Delays in inspections have already prevented Ukraine from exporting an additional 3 million tons of grain. 10 million people in the world have not received food on time because of Russia’s political ambitions.
“We call on the international community, in particular the countries in Africa and Asia that rely on Ukraine’s grain exports, to demand that Russia immediately stop these artificial delays in inspecting ships along the grain corridor. We must not allow the Kremlin to hold millions of people hostage to its hunger games,” the Foreign Ministry stressed.
It is also noted that Ukraine seeks to continue close cooperation with the UN and Turkey to ensure the smooth functioning of the Black Sea grain corridor and appealed to the Secretariat of the Joint Coordination Center with a request to urgently resolve the issue of delays by Russia, in particular by increasing the number of inspectors in the Bosporus Strait.
