Ukraine has requested that Turkish authorities detain a Russian-flagged ship carrying Ukrainian grain, the country’s ambassador to Turkey, Vasil Bodnar, told CNN on Saturday.
Bondar said the Zhibek Zoli vessel is currently at anchor near the Turkish port of Karasu because “it was actually detained by Turkish customs officials and is not allowed to enter the port.” “Now we are waiting for the decision of the relevant Turkish authorities regarding the actions that the law enforcement agencies of Ukraine insist on,” he said.
Turkey’s trade ministry has yet to respond to CNN’s request for confirmation that the ship has been detained.
Bodnar said Ukraine initially addressed Turkey’s foreign ministry regarding the ship on Thursday, and on Friday the Ukrainian embassy in Turkey received an appeal from Ukrainian authorities “to ensure its detention and inspection”.
“Maybe, we will also demand his arrest,” Bodnar said. “We have sent an appeal to the Turkish authorities, conducted several communications with senior officials.” CNN has contacted Turkey’s foreign ministry regarding Bodnar’s claim.
Ukraine has repeatedly said that Russia has stolen hundreds of thousands of tons of grain since the start of the war.
According to ship tracking website Marine Traffic, the cargo ship departed the Russian port of Novorossiysk on June 22 and spent nearly a week at sea between Ukraine and Russia.
According to Maritime Traffic, the cargo ship turned on its tracker while leaving the Azov Sea for Karasu, Turkey on June 29 and reached Turkish port on Friday.
While it is possible that the grain may have come from neighboring areas, Bodnar said that the ship’s loading point was “definitely” Burdiansk – “occupied territory”, without explaining why he was sure about it. Bodnar said he did not have the name of the company or the district from which the grain was taken.
Yevgeny Balitsky, the head of the Zaporizhzhya Regional Military Administration, which is now partly under Russian control, said on Telegram on Thursday that the first merchant ship had left the Burdyansk port on the Azov Sea, and reiterated Russia’s claims that the area around the port The water has spoiled. – Mined by engineering units of the Novorossiysk naval base of Russia.
Bodnar said Ukraine sent a second appeal to Turkey on Friday, “when we just learned that the ship was arriving” following the initial appeal on Wednesday “when we received information from open sources that such a ship was being loaded and apparently was intended to enter the port.”
Friday’s appeal has “a legal” component and has been sent to “all Turkish authorities responsible for decision-making”, he said.
According to Bodnar, Turkey’s Ministry of Trade, responding to an initial appeal, said that the ship would remain anchored. near Karasu port without being allowed to disembark or return, while Turkey evaluates Ukraine’s requests.
“I think the Russian side tried to set an example and start transporting everything from the occupied ports – it could be Burdiansk, it could be Mariupol,” Bodnar said.
“In addition, this is perhaps one of the attempts to drive a wedge between Turkey and Ukraine. As well as an attempt to legitimize its occupation of ports belonging to Ukraine.”
In response to media reports that Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office has submitted a request to Turkey to detain and arrest the cargo ship, Kazakhstan Temir Zoli (KTZ), the ship’s owner, made a statement on Saturday. In said that “KTZ has requested confirmation. from the Ukrainian authorities regarding such request.
“Active consultations are going on with the ambassadors of both the countries. [Turkey and Ukraine]”The statement said.
“The seller, which is a company registered in Europe, insists that the transaction is legal. In order to clarify the situation and exclude violations of international law, KTZ has requested the lessor of the ship to provide in the form of a letter Sent a letter with
“KTZ assures of its commitment to compliance with international law,” it added.
Ukraine accused Russia of blocking its ports and trying to “steal” Ukrainian grain. The United Nations has said Russia’s blockade of Ukraine’s ports has already raised global food prices and threatens catastrophic food shortages in some parts of the world.
Russia has repeatedly denied that it is blocking ports and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has accused Russia of stealing grain from its neighbor as “fake news.”