Croatia offers its ports for export of Ukrainian grain

Croatia is offering its railroad network and ports in the Adriatic Sea to transport Ukrainian grain via alternative routes in the wake of Russia's blocking of the Black Sea Grain Initiative.

According to an Ukrinform correspondent, Croatian State Secretary for Political Affairs Frano Matušić stated this at a meeting of the UN General Assembly during an open ministerial debate on the situation in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.

Croatia is ready to help find new routes for Ukrainian grain exports. Croatian railways and ports in the Adriatic Sea are among the possible alternative routes, he said.

According to Croatian State Secretary, Russia's decision not to extend the agreement provokes the threat of famine in many parts of the world.

In his speech, Matušić noted that from the first days of the Russian invasion, Croatia declared that it stood by Ukraine and its people. He emphasized that Croatia is ready to support Ukraine for as long as it is needed.

As reported, Russia has announced that it will stop extending the grain deal, which was signed on July 22, 2022, in Istanbul for 120 days and has been extended several times.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the grain initiative could work without Russia's participation, and that by withdrawing from the grain deal, Russia was disrupting its own agreements with Türkiye and the UN, as Ukraine has no agreements with the Russians.