How is the dialogue going between Russians and Ukrainians to unblock grain exports?

There are about 22 million tons of Ukrainian grain stuck in ports due to the war, according to calculations by President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The defense ministries of Russia and Ukraine, and the UN as an observer, hold a meeting this Wednesday, July 13, in Istanbul, Turkey, a country that has been trying to mediate between the parties for months to try to unblock exports, which, in part, according to kyiv, would help alleviate the food crisis.

Before the Russian invasion, approximately 80% of the agricultural products of Ukraine, the “breadbasket of Europe” as the state is known, were exported through seaports. Hence, the objective of the meeting is to discuss the operation of maritime corridors for the export of grain, as stated by the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Andriy Yermak.

kyiv hopes that with all these efforts, the congestion of ships will be eliminated and the monthly export of grain can be increased by 500,000 tons.

Ukraine is one of the world’s largest exporters of wheat, corn and sunflower oilbut the Russian invasion disrupted production and curbed shipments, jeopardizing food supplies in several developing countries, especially some African nations, and contributing to higher prices.

Turkey has offered to provide safe corridors in the Black Sea and has worked with the UN, Russia and Ukraine to reach an agreement. The UN would set up a center in Istanbul to control the shipments, Turkish officials said.

This announcement came after the efforts of the Turkish Defense Minister, Hulusi Akar, who had already anticipated that the talks prior to this Wednesday’s meeting between the parties “had developed positively.”

Akar stated that “after all these meetings, the grains waiting in the Ukrainian ports will be shipped to the international markets by sea. The military delegations of the Defense Ministries of Turkey, Russia and Ukraine and the United Nations delegation will conduct negotiations for their safe handover.”

For his part, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, in an interview with the AP agency, said that the safety of ship owners, cargo owners and Ukraine must be guaranteed before the grain can be be safely exported.

Kuleba added that Russia’s desire to circumvent sanctions is putting “millions of people” at risk of starvation.

“This is what makes the whole situation so cynical,” Kuleba said, “they are playing their hunger game,” he added.

Russia’s conditions for unlocking

With Russia blockading Ukraine’s Black Sea and Sea of ​​Azov ports, the fate of the next crop is in doubt. Russian and Ukrainian officials have traded accusations about stuck grain shipments.

Despite this control and the evidence of the blockade of cereals, Russia has reiterated that it does not hinder the departure of foreign commercial ships from Ukrainian ports and has assured that it is willing to assist in the unblocking, but on the condition that Ukraine eliminates sea mines in the port of Odessa.

Pyotr Ilyichev, director of the department for relations with international organizations at the Russian Foreign Ministry, pointed out that the Russian military had repeatedly declared its willingness to allow safe shipping corridors in the Black Sea.

70 ships from 16 countries have remained stuck in Ukrainian ports, Ilyichev said, claiming that Ukrainian authorities had prohibited them from leaving.

“Our conditions are clear: we need to have the possibility to control and check the ships to prevent any arms smuggling attempts and kyiv must refrain from any provocation,” the Interfax news agency said.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has worked for months to secure a deal that would allow Ukraine to export wheat and other staples from Odessa, the country’s largest port, and also allow Russia to export grain and fertilizer to markets. global.

“We are working hard indeed, but there is still a way to go,” Guterres said ahead of Wednesday’s meeting.

The food supply for dozens of countries remains in danger

Ukrainian officials have blamed the Russian naval blockade for stopping exports and causing a global food crisis. kyiv points out that this “willingness” expressed by Russia to negotiate is manipulation, taking into account that Russian forces continue “attacking critical infrastructure facilities and civilian vessels in the Black Sea.”

Ukraine insists on unblocking the sea ports because the transport capacity through the Danube ports, rail and road to the western border is not enough to replace the sea.

Russia has also not been able to transport its grain. Moscow argues that Western sanctions on its banking and shipping industries make it impossible for Russia to export food and fertilizer and are scaring foreign shipping companies away from transporting it.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) says the war is jeopardizing food supplies for many developing nations and could make hunger worse for up to 181 million people.

The retaking of the Snake Island, I breathe to export part of the grain

Two weeks ago, the Russian withdrawal from the strategic Snake Island, 45 kilometers from the Ukrainian coast, has allowed Ukraine to regain control over the northwestern part of the Black Sea and southern Ukraine.

The importance of the Russian withdrawal from this island lies in the fact that Ukraine has used the Bystroye estuary at the mouth of the Danube River in the Black Sea since Sunday to export part of the grain from three ports.

Before the recovery of the island, global shipping companies had to use ports on the Danube, through the Romanian channel of Sulina, which caused, according to kyiv, the accumulation and congestion of a large number of ships.

The Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine has stated that as of July 12, 16 commercial ships carrying Ukrainian agricultural products to foreign markets have already passed through the Bystroye estuary and are waiting to be loaded with grain. More than 90 ships are also waiting their turn to enter Ukrainian ports on the Sulina channel. A total of 135 ships are en route.

In June, Ukraine managed to export 2.5 million tons of products through available logistics routes, when the need amounts to 8 million per month.

With EFE, Anadolu and AP