No agreements on unblocking of Ukrainian ports between Turkey, Russia, says Ukraine

The Ukraine Foreign Ministry voiced its appreciation of Turkey’s efforts to unblock Ukrainian ports, noting at the same time that there were currently no agreements on the issue between Ukraine, Turkey and Russia, as of June, 7.

Ukraine noted that for an agreement on the unblocking of Ukrainian ports between Turkey and Russia, it would need effective security guarantees for the restoration of navigation, which should be provided by supplying weapons to protect the coast and engaging forces of third countries to patrol the Black Sea waters, as reported by Ukrinform.

The Foreign Ministry also insisted that Ukraine is making every effort to unblock seaports in order to prevent a global food crisis and is currently working with the UN and partners to create a humanitarian corridor for the export of Ukrainian agricultural products.

“Given the recent Russian missile strike on the grain terminal in Mykolayiv, we cannot rule out plans by Russia to use such a corridor to attack Odessa and southern Ukraine. That is why effective security guarantees are needed for the resumption of navigation,” the statement stressed.

“At the same time, we stress that the decision should be made with the participation of all parties involved. Any agreements which do not take into account Ukraine’s interests will be rejected by us,” the Foreign Ministry stressed.

Additionally, the ministry drew attention to the fact that Ukraine has already started supplying grain to the global market by trucks, railways and river transport, but the diplomats stressed that this issue could be solved comprehensively only by unblocking Ukrainian ports.

The Foreign Ministry also called on all interested partners, together with Ukraine, to focus efforts on finding a balanced solution that would lift Russia’s blockade of ports and provide clear security guarantees for the Ukrainian Black Sea coast and relevant humanitarian corridors.

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