PodcastFirst grain ship could leave Ukraine on Aug 1, says Turkish presidential spokesperson
The first ship transporting Ukrainian grain within the framework of the deal signed in Istanbul could depart Ukraine on Aug. 1, said İbrahim Kalın, the chief foreign policy advisor to Turkish President Erdoğan.
Reuters
The possibility of the first grain-exporting ship leaving Ukraine's ports on Aug. 1 is high, a spokesperson for President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said.
"If all (details) are completed by tomorrow, it seems like there is a high possibility that the first ship will leave the port tomorrow...We will see ships leaving the ports the next day at the latest," İbrahim Kalın said on July 31.
Speaking in an interview with broadcaster Kanal 7, Kalın said the joint coordination centre in Istanbul will probably complete the final work on the exporting routes very soon.
Russia and Ukraine are major global wheat suppliers, and the U.N.-brokered agreement they signed in Istanbul last week is intended both to ease the food crisis and reduce global grains prices that have risen since the Russian invasion.
The agreement aims to allow safe passage for grain shipments in and out of Chornomorsk, Odesa and the port of Pivdennyi. Moscow blames Ukraine for stalling shipments by mining the port waters.
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