Turkiye said the first shipment of grain had left the Odessa port as Ukraine said it was a ‘relief for the world’.
President Erodgan’s government had helped to broker a grain deal between Russia and Ukraine after months of wrangling with wheat and other gain products being stranded in Ukraine’s Black Sea port due to the war.
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Turkiye said a ship had left Odessa for Lebanon and will reach Istanbul on Tuesday. According to Ukraine authorities, the ship is carrying 26,000 tonnes of corn. United Nations chief Antonio Guterres who was present during the grain deal welcomed the move while hoping that it would be the “first of many commercial ships” to help the world recover from the global security crisis.
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Ukraine had said 20 thousand tonnes of grain was piled up in Black Sea ports worth $10 billion amid Russia’s blockade of the sea. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky had put the onus on the UN to ensure grain safety as Russia hit the Odessa port with a missile after concluding the deal angering Kyiv.
Ukraine had said the grain would be uploaded on several ships as President Zelensky himself oversaw the operations.
Russia has continued to target Ukrainian cities despite the grain deal with heavy bombing reported in Kherson and other areas in the east and south. Ukraine’s President over the weekend had urged civilians to leave the Donetsk region as Russian forces made gains in the area.
(With inputs from Agencies)
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