Friday, July 22, 2022

WHAT DOES THE AGREEMENT PROVIDE FOR THE EXPORT OF UKRAINIAN GRAIN?

 Filenews 22 July 2022



Ukraine and Russia are preparing to sign an agreement in Istanbul today that will allow the export of Ukrainian grain blocked in Black Sea ports.

According to what the Kremlin announced, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Soygu will be in Turkey today, where he will sign the agreement with Ukraine on grain exports, which is supported by the UN.

The agreement, which was negotiated for two months and will be signed in a few hours at the Dolmabahce Palace in the presence of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, provides for:

-The establishment of a coordination and control centre based in Istanbul.

The centre will include representatives of the three sides, a Ukrainian, a Russian, a Turk, as well as a representative of the United Nations and their teams.

He will be in charge of drawing up the timetable for the rotation of ships in the Black Sea.

According to experts involved in the negotiations, it will take another three to four weeks to complete the preparations and start operating.

-The carrying out of inspections of the ships upon their departure from the Ukrainian ports and upon their arrival in Turkey.

The inspection of the ships that will carry the shipments of grain was a demand of Moscow, which wanted to exclude the parallel transfer of weapons to Ukraine.

For practical reasons, inspections will not be carried out at sea, a possibility that had been considered, but in Turkey, most likely in Istanbul, which has two important commercial ports, Haidarpasa, at the entrance to the Bosphorus and Abarli, in the Sea of Marmara.

Inspections will be carried out by representatives of the four sides during departure and arrival.

-Safe shipping lanes

Russians and Ukrainians are committed to respecting the shipping routes that will cross the Black Sea and will be exempt from all military activity.

Under the agreement, if de-mining is needed, it will have to be done by a 'third country' - other than the three involved - which has not been designated.

Upon departure from Ukraine, the ships will be accompanied by Ukrainian (rather warships) ships, paving the way to the exit from Ukrainian territorial waters.

-Four-month renewable validity

The agreement will be valid for four months and will be automatically renewed. If 20 to 25 tons of grain are currently blocked in the silos of Ukrainian ports, with a transport rate of 8 tons per month, four months will be enough to transport all stocks and evacuate silos.

-Memorandum on Russian grain and fertilizers

A memorandum accompanying the agreement and signed by the UN and Russia will guarantee that Western sanctions against Moscow will not concern grain and fertilisers in a direct or indirect way.

This provision is a sine qua non condition for moscow's signing of the agreement.

Source: AMPE