Grain ship inspections on hold for two days – UN

10:44, 19.04.2023 1 min read

Ship inspections conducted in Istanbul under the Black Sea Grain Initiative have been on hold for two days, spokesperson for the UN secretary general Stéphane Dujarric said at a press briefing on Tuesday.

"I was on the phone with our colleagues in Istanbul just before coming here… No inspections yesterday. No inspections today," Dujarric said.

"There are intense discussions going on [at the JCC] with the Ukrainian representation, with the Russian representation, with a very helpful assistance and participation of Turkey," he said, citing the lack of consent between the sides as the reason.

"But, that only kind of redoubles our determination to ensure the full implementation of the deal," Dujarric said.

He said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres would discuss the issue in New York later this month.