A Russian-flagged ship carrying thousands of tons of grain is being detained and investigated by Turkish authorities in the Black Sea port of Karasu for allegations that its cargo was stolen in Ukraine.
Turkish customs officials acted after Kyiv claimed that the Zhibek Zholy was illegally transporting 7,000 tons of grain out of Berdiansk, a Russian-occupied Ukrainian port in the southeast of the country.
Karasu officials said the ship was waiting outside the port while investigations were made into the origin of the shipment.
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov confirmed that the ship was carrying a Russian flag, but appeared to be muddying the waters while claiming the Kremlin was seeking clarity on Monday.
“The ship really has a Russian flag, but I think it belongs to Kazakhstan and the cargo was transported under a contract between Estonia and Turkey,” Lavrov told reporters.
Kyiv has accused Russia of stealing grain from the occupied Ukrainian territory to sell them on international markets. The country’s grain exports account for almost 15% of the world’s total.
The case of Zhibek Zholy has put the focus on theft claims and put the Turkish government in a sensitive position, as it continues to seek a mediating role between Moscow and Kyiv on the issue of global food supply.
The voyage of the Zhibek Zholy had been proudly announced by the head of the occupied Zaporizhzhia region, designated by Moscow, where the port of Berdiansk is located, as the “first merchant ship” to draw supplies from Russian-controlled ports since start the war.
The office of the Attorney General of Ukraine subsequently wrote to the Turkish Ministry of Justice on June 30, stating that the Zhibek Zholy was involved in the “illegal export of Ukrainian grain” and that he was addressing Karasu.
Turkey was asked to “conduct an inspection of this sea vessel, seize grain samples for forensic examination and request information on the location of this grain.”
Speaking on Ukrainian national television on Sunday, the country’s ambassador to Turkey, Vasyl Bodnar, had said he hoped the grain would be confiscated.
He said: “We have full cooperation. Currently the ship is at the entrance of the port. It has been detained by the Turkish customs authorities.”
The difficulty of identifying the origins of the grain remains real, however. The administrations designated by Russia in the occupied territories also claim that they are working in collaboration with local farmers to launch cereals on the world market.
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On Tuesday, authorities installed by Russia in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine announced an agreement to sell grain to Iraq, Iran and Saudi Arabia.
The Russian news agency Tass quoted Yevgeny Balitsky, the head of the administration, as saying that Russian agricultural traders and state-owned enterprises were buying grain from farmers in the region.
“Prices are not bad right now,” Balitsky told the news agency. “A farmer gets about $ 200 per ton of grain, which is fantastic, because his production cost is about $ 120, even considering the long storage time, which was forced.”