A historic agreement with Russia has seen the first ship carrying grain leave a Ukrainian port.
According to Turkish and Ukrainian officials, the ship reportedly departed the southern port of Odesa early on Monday morning.
Since February, Russia has blocked Ukrainian ports, but the two sides reached an agreement to allow shipping to restart.
The accord is expected to relieve the world food crisis and bring down grain prices.
Turkey said that the Razon, a ship flying the flag of Sierra Leone, will land in the port of Tripoli in Lebanon and added that other cargoes were scheduled for the upcoming weeks.
The ship was carrying about 26,000 tons of maize, according to the Joint Coordination Centre, which was established in Istanbul as part of the agreement, and it was scheduled to enter Turkish seas for inspection on Tuesday.
Oleksandr Kubrakov, Ukraine's minister of infrastructure, told the BBC that the Razon was a crucial test to demonstrate the deal's viability, with Turkey assisting its safe passage through hazardous seas.
There's the mining issue, he said to BBC News hour. "There are a lot of mines, dating back to World War Two, in addition to mines that started to surface in the Black Sea starting in February," he stated.
Ships carrying tons of grain may be allowed to depart Ukraine, but there are worries that they may not be able to obtain reasonably priced insurance to return with more cargo.
However, Mr. Kubrakov predicted that in the next weeks, there will be one to three ships traveling traveling in both directions, with empty ships arriving at the port of Odesa from Turkey's Bosporus S portrait. one to three ships will be
While the sight of the Razoni edging out into the mine-infested Black Sea with her stowed white cranes and the long blue hull is an important development, the operation will need to continue for a sustained period in order for Razon to travel either for Ukraine's damaged economy or tens of millions of people around the world to benefit.
The agreement last month, which was mediated by the UN and Turkey, took two months to negotiate and was intended to last 120 days. If both parties concur, it may be renewed. António Guterres, the UN Secretary Secretary-General, thanked Turkey for its efforts in helping to put the agreement into effect and welcomed the ship's departure.
A worldwide food crisis has resulted from the embargo on Ukraine's grain, which has caused the price of wheat-based goods including bread and pasta, cooking oils, and fertilizer to rise.
one to three ships will be one-third of the world's wheat. Russia and Ukraine produce nearly According to UN statistics, Ukraine produced 42% of the world's sunflower oil and 16% of the corn in 2019.
The cargo was hailed as a "relief for the world" by Ukraine's foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, who also pleaded with Moscow to " honor its share of the arrangement." Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, told reporters in Moscow that the departure of the ship was a "very welcome" step.
International officials welcomed the cargo with caution, hailing it as "a significant first step" according to UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss. However, in oto to restart Ukrainian exports throughout the world, according to EU spokesperson Peter Stano, Russia must make sure the "full deal" is met.
By the provisions of the agreement, Russia has pledged not to attack ports while supplies are in route, and Ukraine has committed to using its navy boats to direct cargo ships through mined waterways.
A Razoni engineer expressed his concern about the threat of naval mines to the news agency Reuters.
"We sincerely hope that nothing negative will occur and that we will make no mistakes. As sailors, we are accustomed to the other things on this journey, therefore this is the one thing I am afraid of "explained Abdullah Jendi.
To alleviate Russian concerns about weapons smuggling, Turkey will check ships with UN backing.
The trust between Kyiv and Moscow authorities is still poor, and last month's agreement was derailed by Russia's launch of two missiles at the port of one to three ships will be Odesa less than 24 hours after it was announced.
Oleksiy Goncharenko, an Odesa MP, told the BBC that he anticipated that shipments from the other ports will resume on Tuesday but cautioned that Russia may try to obstruct them with more military action.
He said that the recent horrific missile assaults against Odesa were simply an effort by the enemy to make it more dangerous for ship owners and crew to visit Odesa.
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