Lithuania's port is ready to ship Ukrainian grain after Russia’s withdrawal from grain deal

LRT writes about this, referring to the statement of the general director of the Klaipeda Port, Algis Latakas.

He said that the port can handle 10-15 million tons of grain, but Lithuania exports only about 3.5 million tons of grain. However, delivering cargo to the Baltic Sea coast is still hard.

"There's a huge problem as it involves many things, different countries, different arrangements, different interests and so on. If this issue is resolved, Klaipėda could ensure 100 percent servicing of a part of Ukrainian grain as early as today," Latakas explained.

Grain deal

The Black Sea Grain Initiative was a deal made separately between Russia and the UN, and Ukraine and the UN, with Turkey acting as a mediator. It was agreed upon in July 2022 in Istanbul and has been extended multiple times since then.

In January, the Ministry of Infrastructure stated that the Russians' actions in the Bosphorus were causing a significant disruption in the export of Ukrainian food to the world. The occupiers were deliberately delaying the inspection of ships carrying grain destined for third world countries.

In March 2023, the Russian Federation informed the agreement participants that they wanted to extend the agreement for only 60 days instead of the previously agreed upon 120 days. The deadline for these agreements expired on May 18.

To continue the agreement, the occupiers made certain demands, including:

• The reconnection of Rossilhospbank to SWIFT (a financial messaging network).

• The resumption of the supply of agricultural machinery, spare parts, and services.

• The lifting of restrictions on insurance and reinsurance, as well as the removal of the ban on accessing ports.

• The reopening of the ammonia pipeline Togliatti - Odesa.

• The unblocking of foreign assets and accounts of Russian companies involved in food and fertilizer production and transportation.

On May 17, the grain deal was extended for 60 days. The Russians' demands were not met.

On June 5, the Russian Federation said it saw no prospects for extending the agreement in July, and on June 22, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said it did not see the Russians' readiness to continue the grain initiative.

On July 5, the UN announced its readiness to send a representative to Moscow to "save the grain deal."

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on July 8 that his country is working on extending the grain deal for two years. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has offered Russian President Putin to extend the grain deal in exchange for reconnecting Rosselkhozbank to SWIFT. The Kremlin had demanded this earlier

On July 16, the last ship carrying Ukrainian agricultural products left Odesa port as part of an agreement. However, on July 17, Russia said they were ending the grain deal. In response, Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that despite Russia's withdrawal, they should continue using the grain corridor. Kuleba began urgent talks at the UN.

The White House criticized Russia's decision to leave the grain deal, which had a big role in reducing global food prices.

On July 18, Russia's President's spokesman, Peskov, warned of "certain risks" for anyone trying to revive the Black Sea Grain Initiative without Russia's involvement.

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, emphasized the importance of restoring transport links through the Black Sea to provide food to vulnerable countries worldwide and to maintain Ukraine's ability to export goods.

On July 19, it was reported that Ukraine is considering transporting food through the territorial waters of Bulgaria and neighboring Romania as part of the grain deal.