Admin l Tuesday, November 1, 2022
NEW YORK – The United Nation, UN has put the Black Sea Grain Initiative on hold, following the decision of Russia to suspend its involvement in the deal.
The UN officials stationed at the Joint Coordination Centre (JCC) for the UN-brokered Black Sea Grain Initiative have said there will be no movement of vessels on Wednesday, in the light of Russia’s decision to suspend its involvement in the deal.
Addressing reporters on Tuesday, UN Deputy Spokesperson, Farhan Haq, said the Ukrainian, Turkish and UN delegations that remain active in the deal, had reached agreement to halt movement at the JCC, which is based in Istanbul.
Russia’s Permanent Representative told ambassadors debating his country’s withdrawal in the UN Security Council that the deal simply could not continue, without Russian participation.
Russia’s ministry of defence was also quoted as saying that it was “unacceptable” for shipping to use the safety corridor established by the grain initiative, accusing Ukraine of using the safety corridor to “conduct operations” against Russia, which Ukraine has categorically denied.
The Initiative which has succeeded in lowering essential food prices and boosting the vital export of lifesaving foodstuffs to countries in danger of famine, was signed by the UN, Ukraine, Russia and Türkiye last July, and has transported close to 10 million metric tonnes of grain from three Ukrainian ports along agreed routes, with joint inspections conducted by the JCC.
Mr. Haq said that operations that were already underway with 36 inspections carried out on board outbound ships on Tuesday before Russia suspended the deal.
According to him, “the teams boarded another two ships, but the process was suspended due to issues related to fumigated cargo. All inspection reports will be shared with the Russian and Ukrainian delegations”, he said.
