After Russia suspended the international agreement, European partner states are ready to help find new routes for Ukrainian grain exports. Thus, Croatia and Lithuania are offering their ports.
According to Ukrinform, this proposal was made by Croatian Foreign Minister Frano Matusic at a meeting of the UN General Assembly during an open ministerial debate on the situation in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.
“Croatia is ready to help find new export routes for Ukrainian grain. Croatian railways and ports in the Adriatic Sea are one of the possible alternative routes,” he said.
The minister added that Russia’s decision to terminate the agreement could provoke famine in many parts of the world. He emphasized that Croatia will support Ukraine as long as it is needed.
Lithuania has also announced that it is ready to ship Ukrainian grain from its main port. This was stated by Algis Latakas, CEO of the Port of Klaipeda, as reported by LRT.
The port could ship 10 million tons of grain from Ukraine. However, the logistics of food delivery to the Baltic Sea are complicated.
“This is a headache since it involves many things, different countries, different agreements, different interests, and so on. If this issue is resolved, Klaipeda will be able to provide 100 per cent service for a part of Ukrainian grain today”, Mr Latakas said.
At the same time, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda said that his country would look for different routes to export grain across the Baltic Sea.
The EU is seeking to transport more Ukrainian grain by road and rail to compensate for Russia’s withdrawal from the grain deal.
On July 17, 2023, Russia stopped extending the grain deal, which allowed the transportation of Ukrainian grain from Black Sea ports.
The agreement was signed in Istanbul, Turkey, on July 22, 2022. It allowed Ukraine to ship more than 33 million tons of grain by sea.
The Kremlin’s decision was condemned in Europe. As a result, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that Russia’s war against Ukraine harms millions of vulnerable people around the world.
The head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, said that Russia, by terminating the grain deal, further exacerbates the global food security crisis.
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