Black Sea grain export route now offers wider opportunities - Ambassador Bodnar

Ukrainian Ambassador to Turkiye Vasyl Bodnar said this in an interview with Ukrinform.

"The Black Sea Grain Initiative was very important and beneficial for Ukraine and the whole world. It helped keep grain prices in balance and prevented a shortage of grain in the world and a global food crisis. [...] The functioning of the so-called humanitarian corridor for the exit of ships from Ukrainian ports actually shows better results in terms of the volume and quantity of goods than it was when the grain initiative was in place," Bodnar said.

The diplomat recalled that the grain export route operating today is safer because it runs through the territorial waters of Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey. And in the past four months, more than 500 ships passed through this route, and this is more than 14 million tonnes of goods insured by international companies.

"This demonstrates an alternative to the Black Sea Grain Initiative. But I would not rule out the possibility of conducting negotiations with the participation of Turkey and the UN, for example, for the creation of conditions for safe shipping, so that other countries could enter Ukrainian ports and not feel threatened by Russia," the ambassador said.

According to him, the UN continued negotiations and tried to return Russia to the quadrilateral format, but the demands put forward by Moscow are a frank attempt to circumvent sanctions.