Russia said on Friday it would inspect all ships bound for Ukrainian ports for weapons after the defense ministry warned it would view such ships as potential military targets, regardless of their flag.
“We have to be sure (…) It makes perfect sense, especially after the attacks that have been committed”, That said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin at a press conference.
Vershinin explained that as is common practice with marine inspections, an order is placed and then inspected to confirm that the vessel is not carrying any “harmful” cargo.
“Now there is no more maritime humanitarian corridor, now it is an area of maximum military risk,” he stressed.
Also on Friday, the UN said threats against civilian ships sailing in the Black Sea were “unacceptable”.
“We are also concerned about reports of mines being laid in the Black Sea, which pose a threat to civilian shipping,” UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo said at a Security Council meeting.
“The risk of the conflict escalating in response to a military incident in the Black Sea – intentional or accidental – must be avoided at all costs, as it could have catastrophic consequences for all of us,” DiCarlo said.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Thursday “strongly” condemned recent Russian attacks on Ukraine’s Black Sea ports.
After Moscow began its attempt to blockade Ukraine’s coast and try to close off Ukraine’s access to the Black Sea on February 24 last year, Kiev responded that it also considers any ship heading for Russian ports as a military target .
The Russian Secretary of State indicated that in addition to the “force measures”, other economic and financial measures are linked to the insurance of the ships involved.
He also acknowledged that Moscow is looking for new routes for its products and fertilizers, following Monday’s suspension of the Black Sea Cereals Initiative, which is why it is maintaining contacts with Turkey.
Vershinin claimed that the possibility of the Turkish Navy’s fleet escorting Ukrainian ships is “dangerous” and “unfeasible”, and also rejected the navigation of these ships through the territorial waters of different countries until they reach the Bosphorus.
“I don’t think you can ignore Russia, no matter what Kiev says, when it comes to solving the problems related to the Black Sea, about food security. It’s just impossible,” he said.
In this regard, he assured that Moscow is taking into account the concerns that the suspension of the agreement has raised in African countries ahead of next week’s Russia-Africa summit in St Petersburg.
“Of course there are contacts, efforts so that African countries do not feel the negative consequences in that sense,” he said, although he admitted that there are still no concrete agreements.
As for grain in European ports, he said only Malawi and Kenya have received a share of that cargo since the start of the war nearly a year and a half ago.
The Black Sea Grain Initiative, agreed a year ago by Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations, allowed the export of nearly 33 million tons of food from three ports in southern Ukraine, which is considered critical to lowering the world prices and safety. most unprotected countries.
The Russian authorities said they will only return to the protocol if their conditions are met, namely trade in their own agricultural products, which they say is hampered by Western sanctions.
Russia’s demands also include the reintegration of its agricultural bank, the Rosselkhozbank, into SWIFT’s international banking system, the lifting of sanctions on spare parts for agricultural machinery, the unblocking of transport logistics and insurance, the unblocking of assets and the reopening of the Togliatti Bank. Ammonia pipeline in Odessa, which exploded on June 5.
The Russian military offensive on Ukrainian territory, launched on February 24 last year, plunged Europe into what is considered the most serious security crisis since World War II (1939-1945).
Source: DN
