“None of the vessels loaded with Ukrainian grain in the port of Yuzhny (Pivdenny) has been allowed to be registered,” UN spokesman Stefan Dujarric told reporters on Monday. “We are concerned about this restriction and reiterate our call for a full resumption of operations.”
Dujarric did not directly name the party, because of which there are no ships in the port of Yuzhny now.
Before the war, Russian ammonia was exported from this port near Odessa, which passed through the Togliatti pipeline. Before the start of the war, Russia exported up to 4.4 million tons of ammonia per year, of which 2.5 million tons through the port of Yuzhny. The pipeline was closed immediately after the Russian invasion of Ukraine .
The Black Sea Grain Initiative, brokered by the UN and Turkey in July last year, allows the safe export of ammonia from Russia and is pushing for the pipeline to be restarted. Last week, Russia agreed to extend the Black Sea Grain Initiative for another two months.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Monday that since the agreement was extended on May 17, 9 ships have been inspected and cleared to sail, five of which are currently being loaded at ports in Odessa and Chernomorsk.
According to the UN, there are currently 17 other requests for vessels going for loading in Ukraine at the Joint Coordination Center (JCC) in Istanbul, seven of them have already been approved and the vessels are now awaiting verification.
According to the UN, within the framework of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, more than 30 million tons of Ukrainian grain have already been exported from Ukrainian ports, more than a third of these deliveries are destined for the port of Yuzhny.
Russia has threatened not to renew the deal unless a list of its demands to remove barriers to Russian food and fertilizer exports is met. Among these requirements is the resumption of operation of the ammonia pipeline.
A Ukrainian government source told Reuters last Friday that Kiev could only consider exporting Russian ammonia through its territory if the Black Sea grain deal was expanded to include more Ukrainian ports and cargo.
According to the agreement, the Joint Coordination Center in Istanbul (composed of Ukrainian, Russian, Turkish and UN officials) issues permits to ships to enter Ukrainian ports and monitors all ships entering and leaving its ports. .
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