Ships Continue Moving Through ‘Grain Corridor’ Despite Russia’s Demarche

The UN confirmed that eight more ships with Ukrainian agricultural foodstuffs were expected to pass through the “grain corridor” on 3 November.

A relevant announcement was made by Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine Oleksandr Kubrakov.

The UN Secretariat previously stated that the movement and inspections of ships after the suspension of Russia’s participation in the initiative was a temporary and emergency measure.

At the same time, according to Deputy Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine Yuriy Vaskov, negotiations on Russia’s further participation were ongoing between Russia, the UN, and Turkey.

“We expect to receive an answer within a few days at most,” he said, adding that 15 ships loaded with grain had left Ukrainian ports since Monday despite Russia’s decision to “suspend participation” in the initiative on Saturday, 29 October.

The deputy minister stressed that a quick resumption of Moscow’s involvement was crucial to solving the safety concerns of insurers who warned that without it they would not be able to offer to cover risks to vessels.

Deliveries leaving this week remain insured as insurance quotes are valid for seven days.

Vaskov also noted that cargo shipments had been carried out much more efficiently in recent days, and ship inspections by representatives of Ukraine, the UN, and Turkey were conducted “four times faster” without the participation of Russia. Earlier, some ships waited two weeks or more for inspection as Russian inspectors deliberately created obstacles. Currently, more than 100 ships await inspection at the entrance to the Bosphorus Strait.

Ukraine can “export 6 million or even 7 million tonnes per month” as part of the initiative if the process goes smoothly, the official noted.

UPDATE:

Mass media report that the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation announced the resumption of Russia’s implementation of the “grain agreement.”

The Ministry noted that Russia had allegedly received “written guarantees” from Ukraine regarding the non-use of the grain corridor for military operations against the Russian Federation.

President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said in Ankara that the grain corridor for the Ukrainian food exports would start working from noon on 2 November “as it was before.”

Bohdan Marusyak