Black Sea Grain Initiative under threat of shutdown

Russia once again blocked the Black Sea Grain Initiative (BCGI) vessel inspections in Turkish waters, the Infrastructure Ministry of Ukraine reported on Monday.

From April 10, Russian representatives in the Joint Coordination Center, set up in Istanbul under the BCGI deal brokered by the U.N. and Turkey, unilaterally stopped registering ships from the list submitted by Ukrainian ports to draw up an inspection plan, the ministry says. Instead, the Russians form their own plan, picking vessels from the queue at their discretion, which is contrary to the initiative’s terms and conditions and unacceptable to Ukraine.

As a result, for the second time in the nine months of BCGI’s life, no inspection plan has been drawn up, and no vessel has been inspected at all, putting the initiative’s operation at risk.

“In this way, the Russian party is trying to establish control over the number of the loaded fleet and the directions of its work, which is a violation of international norms and Grain Initiative provisions,” the ministry states. “This is one more attempt to dictate their policy to the whole world, endanger food security and weaponize food.”

The U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Bridget Brink, said on Twitter that over 50 ships were “waiting in the Bosphorus for a permission to go to Ukrainian ports to load grain that will feed those who need it. Russia is trying to strangle the Ukrainian economy and slow down the flow of food instead of complying with the terms of the agreement.”

Photo: Vessels are seen as they await inspection under the Black Sea Grain Initiative, brokered by the United Nations and Turkey, in the southern anchorage of the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey, December 11, 2022. REUTERS/Yoruk Isik//File Photo

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