The first authorized shipment of Ukrainian grain since the start of the war on February 24 arrived on the Black Sea coast north of Istanbul on Tuesday night, an AFP team found.
Departing from Odessa in southern Ukraine on Monday morning with 26,000 tons of corn bound for Lebanon, the Razoni, a Sierra Leone-flagged freighter, will spend the night anchored off the coast of Turkey and will be inspected on Wednesday morning by an international team at the entrance to the Bosphorus, the Turkish Defense Ministry said.
This is the first export authorized under the agreement signed on July 22 in Istanbul between Ukraine and Russia, mediated by Turkey and under the auspices of the United Nations, to unblock Ukrainian ports and relieve agricultural markets.
According to the AFP photographer and cameraman stationed on the shore, the boat, 186 meters long, came into view of the coast shortly before 7:00 p.m. local time (4:00 p.m. GMT).
According to the Ministry of Defense, the ship was expected “at the entrance to the Bosphorus around 9:00 p.m.” (6:00 p.m. GMT).
The inspection, requested by Moscow, which wanted to be sure of the nature of the cargo, will be “carried out by a delegation made up of representatives of Turkey, Russia, Ukraine and the UN, then the Razoni will continue on its way,” he specified. to Turkish Admiral Özcan Altunbulak, head of the Joint Coordination Center (JCC) that oversees the operations, press this Wednesday.
Source: BFM TV
