Maritime truce applies to all Ukrainian ports in Black Sea region, no agreement on renewal of Grain Initiative - MFA
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Heorhiy Tykhy rejected Russian manipulations regarding the agreement on the renewal of the Black Sea Grain Initiative and stressed that the maritime truce applies to all Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea region.
At a briefing in Kyiv on Thursday, the spokesman noted that at a meeting in Saudi Arabia, Ukraine and the United States agreed on a ceasefire in the Black Sea, which applies to both civilian shipping and ports. He also stressed that Russia's movement of its military vessels beyond the eastern part of the Black Sea would be considered a violation of this agreement.
"It is precisely about the cessation of attacks on civilian ships and ports. By ports we mean all Ukrainian ports of the Black Sea region, the Black Sea zone, which includes not only the ports of Odesa, but also ports on rivers flowing into the Black Sea," Tykhy said.
According to him, the Russian Federation "tried to mislead the international community" and present the ceasefire initiative as a renewal of the Black Sea Grain Initiative.
"I want to state clearly: this is not true. There is no renewal of the Black Sea Grain Initiative. This is not correct... The current agreement does not say anything about any inspections of ships. No one has agreed on anything like this. Ukraine has been providing sea transit for quite a long time thanks to the Defense Forces of Ukraine," the Foreign Ministry said.
The spokesman noted that in the coming days and weeks it will be seen whether the Russian Federation adheres to the cessation of attacks, including on port infrastructure.
"American partners should also see this," he added.
The Foreign Ministry stressed that work on monitoring the ceasefire is still ongoing.
"In general, the responsibility lies with the United States, as the party that facilitated these agreements, monitoring the ceasefire. But it is also important to involve third parties in this. Today, there are technical capabilities to monitor the ceasefire. A number of other possibilities are being discussed. This work is currently in progress," he said.
