The pro-Russians who control part of the Ukrainian region of Zaporizhia admitted this Wednesday that they are sending cereals to Turkey and the Middle East, ignoring the accusations of kyiv that these are stolen goods.
“We ship grain through Russia, the main contracts are signed with Turkey. The first trains are already traveling through Crimea to the Middle East,” Zaporizhia’s pro-Russian chief Yevgeny Balitsky told state channel Rossiya-24, quoted by the Spanish news agency EFE.
kyiv authorities claim grain is stolen by Russian forces and that are transported to Syria and Turkey through Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014.
The first Ukrainian grain shipment followed by rail from the city. under Russian control from Melitopol in the Zaporizhia region to the Crimea in 11 wagons.
Balitsky, who was appointed by Moscow after Russian troops partially conquered the Zaporizhia region, said “almost 80%” of this territory in southern Ukraine is under the control of Russia and pro-Russian militias.
Another pro-Russian local leader, Vladimir Rogov, told the official TASS news agency today that Russia plans to ship Ukrainian grain from the occupied port of Berdyansk, also in Zaporizhia, this week.
The war in Ukraine, which Russia invaded on February 24, caused the suspension of Ukrainian grain exports and affected the sale of Russian products, due to Western sanctions against Moscow.
The situation has caused a world price risealso fueled by interruptions in the supply of Russian oil and gas.
The European Union has accused Russia of being using the food issue as a way to blackmail the West to ease sanctions.
Together, according to the British magazine The Economist, Ukraine and Russia supply 28% of the world’s wheat, 29% of its barley, 15% of its corn and 75% of its sunflower oil.
After a meeting in Ankara with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, the head of Turkish diplomacy, Mevlut Cavusoglu, announced Turkey’s willingness to implement a plan that would allow the distribution of cereals from Russia and Ukraine.
“We are talking about a mechanism that is developing between the UN, Russia, Ukraine and Turkey,” Cavusoglu said.
However, he admitted that such a plan will involve removing the obstacles to Russian exports provided for in the sanctions.
“The security of ships and the banking sector has to be clarified in this mechanism,” said the Turkish Foreign Minister.
Source: Observadora
