With the aim of reviving the "grain initiative" and finding alternative paths for the "grain corridor," Ukraine continues to conduct an active foreign policy campaign. Ukraine will soon launch a new "grain corridor" through Moldova and Romania.
This grain export route will be of significant importance not only for Ukraine itself and partner countries but also for global food security. This was announced by the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, on October 10 in Bucharest during a press conference following negotiations with his Romanian counterpart, Klaus Johannis.
In turn, the Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs, Georgios Gerapetritis, announced the readiness to open a new grain corridor at an informal meeting in Kyiv on October 2. Greece is ready to provide an alternative route for the export of grain from Ukraine through its ports of Thessaloniki and Alexandroupolis. The plan has already been developed, and the Greek government has discussed it with both other EU member states and partners outside the European Union. This project involves the transportation of Ukrainian agricultural products by rail through Romania and Bulgaria to Thessaloniki and Alexandroupolis. Greek commercial vessels are expected to be involved in the transportation, as they were previously actively carrying grain from Ukraine through the "grain corridor" in the Black Sea.
In early October, Ukraine reached agreements with Poland and Lithuania to simplify the transit of grain to one of the Baltic ports. Ukraine proposed to move veterinary, sanitary, and phytosanitary controls from the Ukrainian-Polish border to the Lithuanian port of Klaipeda. This will significantly speed up the transit of Ukrainian agricultural products through Polish territory.
The organization of new grain export routes from Ukraine has become an urgent necessity after Russia disrupted the operation of the "grain corridor" in the Black Sea in the summer of 2023. This route was the main artery through which the most significant amount of food was sent abroad. Since then, the Russian aggressor has been launching regular, massive, combined strikes on the port infrastructure objects of the Odessa region using various types of missiles and kamikaze drones. Since the withdrawal from the Black Sea grain initiative, Russia has damaged 130 port infrastructure objects in Odessa, Chornomorsk, and Reni, and destroyed approximately 300,000 tons of grain.
In August, Ukraine launched an alternative sea corridor that passes through the territorial waters of NATO countries. According to a report by the Bloomberg agency on October 2, all three Ukrainian Black Sea ports, despite Russia's threats to shell ships heading to Ukrainian ports, have resumed accepting vessels for grain exports. The first 10 ships have already used the alternative sea corridor, despite Russia's threats to sink vessels heading to Ukrainian ports. It is also reported that international insurance companies have resumed coverage of insurance risks. "The passage of ships indicates that Ukraine's bold move to create its own trade route after the collapse of the secure corridor, agreed with Russia, has paid off," the agency reports. According to the Russian publication The Moscow Times, the functioning of the corridor was largely made possible by the neutralization of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, which the Ukrainian Defense Forces have been intensively attacking since Vladimir Putin refused to extend the agreement with the UN and Turkey on the export of Ukrainian grain.
Source: oglavnom.top
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