War in Ukraine: control center for grain exports opened

A control center has started work in Istanbul to monitor grain exports from Russia and Ukraine. But even before the first ship has cast off, Moscow is already threatening to end the export agreement.

The control center agreed by Russia and Ukraine to monitor Ukrainian grain exports has officially opened in Istanbul. The center will make a significant contribution to overcoming the food crisis, said Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar at the opening ceremony. Preparations are underway for the first ship loaded with grain to leave Ukraine via the Black Sea.

Surveillance when entering the Black Sea

Ships should be checked when passing through the Bosphorus Strait, i.e. when entering and exiting the Black Sea, to ensure that they have no weapons or the like loaded. The coordination center will register the merchant ships and track their movements via satellite, among other things, Akar said.

The center is part of an agreement brokered by the UN and Turkey on Friday in Istanbul to lift the blockade of Ukrainian ports. According to Akar, the center has been in operation since Saturday.

Russia bombs Odessa – on the day of the agreement

In the agreement on Friday, Russia had pledged to let ships sail through a safe sea corridor and not to attack them or the ports involved. However, the Russian army fired rockets at Odessa on the same day. Moscow had initially denied this, but the day after admitted the shelling. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy then accused Russia of breaching the treaty.

Ports start work

In the meantime, however, the three ports of Ukraine intended for the export of grain have resumed their work. The ports of Odessa, Chornomorsk and Pivdenny are operational again, although there is still work to be done to ensure the safety of the convoys, the Ukrainian Navy said.

Before the Russian war of aggression, Ukraine was one of the most important grain exporters in the world. Because of the war, however, more than 20 million tons of grain could not be exported from Ukraine.

Russia threatens to end the agreement

But before the first grain ship could cast off, Moscow was already threatening to let the agreement fail. The export of grain from Russia and Ukraine must start simultaneously, demanded Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko, according to the Interfax agency. Therefore, the obstacles to the export of Russian grain must be removed quickly.

Apparently, this means the western sanctions. In the past, Russia has explicitly made an end to the blockade of the Ukrainian Black Sea ports dependent on the easing of Western sanctions against itself. While the sanctions do not target Russian food and fertilizer exports, they do have indirect effects.

Moscow complains that Russian ships that transport grain can no longer dock in European ports or be insured. There are also problems with the financing of such transports due to the restrictions in the financial sector.