The President of Ukraine discussed overcoming the Black Sea blockade with the leadership of Egypt, India, Turkey and countries in the Middle East. Discussions also took place at the level of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during an audio briefing with journalists.
He noted that these countries had approached Ukraine with a relevant request, but unblocking the Black Sea is also important for the Ukrainian side. Ukraine is proposing a reciprocal ceasefire so that the countries mentioned can receive goods.
“There were proposals from countries. We said: let’s have a reciprocal ceasefire in the Black Sea so that goods, of course primarily agricultural products, can be delivered to the relevant countries without problems. And to other countries too, but it was specifically from these countries that the proposals came. We received a positive response from these countries. Some countries approached us with their own format for how this should work, even in writing. I reviewed everything,” the President explained.
Ukraine is awaiting information from the countries that were to make contact with the Russians on this issue.
- In 2022, Ukraine and Russia, with Turkey acting as an intermediary, agreed on a grain corridor. This made it possible to unblock the sea route for supplying agricultural produce to countries that need it, although the Russians repeatedly tried to derail the agreements.
- This year, the situation has escalated again. Russia has not stopped attacking Ukrainian ports and the vessels heading to them or from them.