The Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations for Humanitarian Affairs, Martin Griffiths, has confirmed that there are already ships loaded with grain in Ukrainian ports waiting to depart and has expressed his hope that these first routes can start tomorrow, Friday.
However, Griffiths has acknowledged that the parties involved in the agreement for the export of food from Ukrainian territory – Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the United Nations – are still outlining the exact coordinates of the routes.
The parties agreed that the ships would cross the Black Sea to the Bosphorus Strait in Turkey, a country where a joint coordination center has been established that includes representatives of the three countries and the UN.
This center, located in Istanbul, is in charge of examining the ships that enter Ukraine in order to guarantee that they are not introducing weapons or combat material into the country, immersed in a military conflict since the end of February after the invasion order of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Ukraine has pledged to guide ships through waters that have been mined and Russia has vowed not to target ships or certain port infrastructure.
According to Griffiths, once the start-up of exports is certified, five tons of food per month could be reached, levels similar to those before the start of the war and never registered since then.
According to information provided by the Ukrainian authorities, a country considered the ‘breadbasin of Europe’, more than 20 million tons of grain are waiting to be exported.