A Russian-flagged cargo ship was detained by Turkey off the Black Sea coast. Ankara launched investigation at the request of the Ukrainian side if it was carrying stolen grain.
On June 30, the first merchant ship Zhibek Zholy with seven thousand tons of grain left the port of Berdyansk located on the coast of the Sea of Azov which came under Russian control and was repaired.
On July 3, an anonymous representative of the Turkish customs reported the detention of a ship leased by the Russian side, on which Ukrainian grain was allegedly transported. He said that no concrete decisions on this issue have yet been made.
In turn, the Ambassador of Ukraine to Turkey Vasily Bodnar told about the detention of the ship, commenting that the fate of the ship and its cargo will be decided at a meeting on Monday, July 4.
Click to see full-size image
The ship Zhibek Zholy (flag of Russia, 9598880) can be seen near the port of Karasu in Turkey.
The Russian Foreign Minister confirmed the detention:
“We need to handle this situation. The vessel seems to be really Russian, under the flag of Russia. It belongs, in my opinion, to Kazakhstan, and the cargo was under contract between Estonia and Turkey. It is necessary to understand everything specifically,” Lavrov said on July 4.
The Ministry of Agriculture of Ukraine previously accused Russia of exporting hundreds of thousands of tons of grain from the country. The office of the UN World Food Program did not confirm these accusations.
