UN officials stationed at the Joint Coordination Centre (JCC) for the UN-brokered Black Sea Grain Initiative said there will be no movement of vessels on November 2, in the light of Russia’s decision to suspend its involvement in the deal.
UN Deputy Spokesperson, Farhan Haq, said the Ukrainian, Turkish and UN delegations that remain active in the deal, had reached agreement on the pause at the JCC.
Russia declared that it was putting its involvement in the deal on hold, and in the Security Council on Monday, Russia’s Permanent Representative told ambassadors debating his country’s withdrawal, at least for now, that the deal simply could not continue, without Russian participation.
News reports quoted Russia’s ministry of defence saying it was “unacceptable” for shipping to use the safety corridor established by the grain initiative, accusing Ukraine of using it to “conduct operations” against Russia, which Ukraine has categorically denied.
The UN Secretariat reiterates that movements and inspections carried out after the Russian Federation suspended its participation in implementation activities at the Joint Coordination Centre, is a temporary and extraordinary measure
said the UN.
Mr. Haq said UN Coordinator for the Secretary-General’s signature Initiative, Amir Abdulla, was cooperating closely with the Turkish delegation at the JCC, and “is exerting all efforts to resume full participation”.
He added that three outbound vessels had used the maritime humanitarian corridor, on November 1, as agreed by the three remaining delegations to the JCC.
As of November 1, the total tonnage of grain and foodstuffs moved from Ukrainian ports under the Black Sea Grain Initiative is more than 9.7 million metric tonnes.
Commenting on Russia’s exit from the deal, ICS issued a statement, saying that the safety of ships and seafarers already in the grain corridor must be protected.
