The Ukrainian Grain Association (UZA) called on the world community, Turkey and the UN to oppose the Russian seizure of the Black Sea and the establishment of restrictions on navigation for other countries.
“UZA considers it necessary to note that the Black Sea is not an internal sea of Russia, where it can dictate to other countries requirements to navigation. Russia’s purposeful actions to delay inspections of ships bound for Ukrainian ports to load grain and other food products under the Black Sea Grain Initiative demonstrate Russia’s real intentions to continue destabilizing global food security and turning food into weapons,” according to the organization’s website.
UZA stressed that because of Russia’s deliberate delay in inspecting ships, a queue of more than 140 ships has formed in the Bosphorus, with the vast majority waiting their turn for more than a month. Thus, the food security of the countries that depend on the export of Ukrainian food products was threatened.
In addition, the Russian Federation, despite military aggression, attacks on Ukrainian ports and restriction of navigation in Ukrainian seaports, continues to enjoy unimpeded commercial passage of its vessels from Russian Black Sea ports.
“The involvement of the Russian side in the inspection of vessels going to Ukrainian ports (which it deliberately and intentionally delays) and at the same time the absence of inspections of vessels sailing from Russian ports in the Azov-Black Sea basin is nothing but rewarding the aggressor and restricting navigation in international waters of the Black Sea in its favor,” – stated in a statement of the association.
“Moreover, the inspection of Russian vessels in the Bosphorus is not carried out, which makes it possible for it to use merchant ships to transport military cargo to continue the war against Ukraine and blackmail other states,” UZA added.
As a result, the association calls on the world community, the UN and Turkey not only to encourage Russia to stop delaying the movement of ships under the Istanbul grain initiative and stop using food as weapons, but also to begin work to restore free navigation in the Black Sea for all countries, in particular free commercial shipping to Ukrainian ports of the Black Sea.
As reported, on February 15, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleby and Deputy Prime Minister for Reconstruction of Ukraine – Minister of Development of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Oleksandr Kubrakov called on the international community, in particular the UN and Turkey as guarantors of the Black Sea grain initiative to demand the Russian Federation to immediately stop artificial delays in the grain corridor and unblock commercial shipping to Ukrainian ports of the Black Sea.
The Ukrainian side notes that Russian representatives in the inspection teams under the Joint Coordination Centre in Istanbul have been systematically delaying for several months in a row the inspection of vessels passing through the Bosporus Strait to/from Ukrainian ports.
In particular, Russian inspectors are slowing down inspections, regularly demanding unregulated documentation, refusing to work during working hours, and looking for other unreasonable reasons to stop inspections. Typically, fewer than half of the 10 inspections scheduled each day occur.
It is emphasized that such destructive policy of Russia has led to a systematic reduction of cargo turnover in the framework of the Black Sea Grain Initiative. In the past three months alone, the world has under-received 10 million tons of Ukrainian food.
