The last ship carrying grain has left Ukraine
In accordance with the grain agreement allowing the safe export of Ukrainian agricultural products in the Black Sea, the last ship carrying grain left Ukraine's port today, 17 May.
The DSM Capella has left the port of Chornomorsk carrying 30,000 tonnes of corn and was on its way to Turkey, according to data issued by the UN.
This information was published by the UN the day before the agreement expired, as Russia does not want to extend it unless it gets a chance to export its fertilizers and grain.
The UN and Turkey reached an agreement last year to avoid a global food crisis, as Ukraine is one of the largest grain exporters in the world. The agreement was originally concluded for 20 days. The agreement was originally for 20 days. Moscow agreed to extend it for another 120 days in November, and in March agreed to a further 60 days extension until May 18.
Officials from Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the UN met last week in Istanbul to discuss the grain agreement.
UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said yesterday that "Contacts are going on at different levels. We're obviously in a delicate stage".
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said last week he thought the deal could be extended for at least two more months.
Although Russian exports of food and fertilizer are not subject to Western sanctions imposed following the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Moscow says restrictions on payments, logistics and insurance have amounted to a barrier to shipments. The United States has rejected Russia's complaints.
U.S. Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said last week: "The Russian Federation is exporting grain and fertilizer at the same levels, if not higher, than before the invasion of Ukraine."
UN Humanitarian Coordinator Martin Griffiths said on Monday that efforts to extend the agreement will continue in the coming days.
Reuters reports that Moscow will consider the possibility of extending the export agreement on the Black Sea grain export to Ukraine after May 18, only if its following requirements are met: restoring the Russian Agricultural Bank (rus. Rosselkhozbank) SWIFT payment system, restoring supplies of agricultural machinery and spare parts to Russia, lifting restrictions on insurance and access to ports for Russian ships and cargo, restarting the ammonia pipeline from Tolyatti to Odesa, unblocking of accounts and financial activities of Russian fertilizer companies.