Mon 01 August 2022:
United Nations chief Antonio Guterres “warmly welcomes” the departure Monday of a first ship carrying Ukrainian grain under a plan to lift Russia’s naval blockade, a spokesperson said.
“The Secretary-General hopes that this will be the first of many commercial ships moving in accordance with the initiative signed, and that this will bring much-needed stability and relief to global food security, especially in the most fragile humanitarian contexts,” the UN said in a statement.
‘Very positive’ news
The Kremlin on Monday said that news of the first ship carrying grain to leave Ukraine‘s port of Odesa under a deal brokered by Türkiye was “very positive”.
The Sierra Leone-flagged Razoni left Odesa today with a cargo of corn, bound for Beirut, Lebanon.
Odesa, along with other Ukrainian Black Sea ports, had been blockaded since the beginning of Russia‘s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24.
Russia-Ukraine peace talks
The Turkish presidential spokesman said he is hopeful that that the grain export deal signed between Türkiye, the UN, Russia, and Ukraine can pave way for peace talks.
“I don’t want to sound overly optimistic, but it’s not unlikely that this grain supply deal will open the door to a cease-fire, prisoner swap, and fresh peace negotiations if it is implemented well,” Ibrahim Kalin said in a televised interview on Sunday.
Kalin said that a war in which both sides suffer defeat and the entire globe suffered harm would have no winner, pointing out how the war impacts every aspect of life worldwide, ranging from the cost of energy to the commodity and food prices.
He also noted that ships from the ports of Odesa are loaded and ready to go, but inspections, coordinated corridors, and delivery of the shipments are still being arranged.
Kalin stressed that if everything goes well the ships may depart in two days at the latest.
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