UN humanitarian aid coordinator Martin Griffiths said the exact coordinates of the ship’s route are currently being finalized as part of the agreement between Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the UN.
The United Nations estimates that the first cargo ships with grain could leave today, Friday, from Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea, as the details of their route have entered the final stage.
UN Humanitarian Aid Coordinator Martin Griffiths said today from New York that there are already loaded ships ready to sail. He said that the precise coordinates of the march that will follow under the agreement between Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the UN are currently finalizing.
The agreement signed last Friday in Istanbul to resume Ukraine’s exports of cereals mitigated concern about the risk of a global food crisis.
Ukraine has pledged to guide ships away from the waters that have been mine, while Russia promised not to target ships and specific port infrastructure. Turkey and the UN will help to coordinate exports and monitor cargo to ensure that ships do not carry smuggled weapons to the war zone.
With the full implementation of the agreement, Griffiths estimated that exports from Ukraine ports would gradually reach levels of 5 million tonnes a month, about as long as it was before the Russian invasion.
More than 20 million tonnes of cereals from last year’s harvest still remain blocked, according to Ukraine, the country that many call “a Europe of Europe”.
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