The center, housed in a military academy, will be led by “five representatives of Russia, Ukraine and the UN, as well as Turkey, both military and civilian,” Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said during a brief ceremony. .
The joint coordination center (JCC), tasked with controlling Ukrainian grain exports via the Black Sea, was officially launched today in Istanbul, as stipulated in the agreements signed on 22 July.
The center, housed in a military academy, will be led by “five representatives of Russia, Ukraine and the UN, as well as Turkey, both military and civilian,” Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said during a brief ceremony. .
Based on the agreements signed for four months between Russia and Ukraine, brokered by Turkey and under the auspices of the UN, the JCC will conduct inspections of ships on departure and arrival in Istanbul to ensure that they are not carrying anything else except for grain.
About 25 million tons of grain, especially wheat, which remains blocked in Ukrainian ports due to the February 24 Russian invasion, is missing from world markets.
According to Akar, the convoys will depart from the ports of Odessa, Chernomorsk and Yuzhny. “Preparation and planning of the first departures continues,” he said.
These three Ukrainian ports have resumed operations, the Ukrainian Navy announced at the same time.
Clarifying that there will be “no military presence” around these convoys, Akar listed the various tasks of the JCC.
The JCC must record and track merchant vessels participating in the convoys, ensure their online and satellite tracking, inspect the vessels “with joint inspection teams at the appropriate location” when loading at Ukrainian ports, and their arrival at Turkish ports.
If necessary, demining will be decided and organized “by the parties”. “However,” added the minister, “there is no need for that at this stage.”
“Those who will work here know that the eyes of the whole world are on them,” insisted the Turkish minister, who expressed hope that the center “will contribute to a better response to humanitarian needs and collective peace.”
Following a Russian strike in Odessa on Saturday morning, the day after the export deal was signed, Turkey expressed its “concern”.
“The attack in Odessa worried the whole world,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu repeated this morning.
“It is not the kind of attack that prevents the port from functioning. But this must not happen again. We hope that the agreement will be able to function without a problem,” he underlined.
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