Strikes on vessels in the Black Sea are putting wheat exports at risk, including Ukrainian exports, and such actions are absolutely unacceptable.
This was stated by France’s Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot, after talks with partners in Istanbul, according to Ukrinform.
The head of the French Foreign Ministry noted that, because of drone attacks near the maritime borders of Romania and Bulgaria, grain supplies to many countries, including Egypt, have been put at risk. He recalled President Emmanuel Macron’s initiative to introduce a moratorium on strikes in the Black Sea in order to guarantee the safety of civilian shipping.
Barrot also mentioned the latest incident on 23 October, when a vessel sank as a result of another strike in the Black Sea. According to him, this is already the eighth such case in the past two weeks, a direct consequence of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
To express support for countries suffering from Russia’s actions, the minister is travelling to Varna in Bulgaria and plans to speak with his Romanian counterpart. Participants in the Istanbul meeting also agreed to consult on an ongoing basis and jointly defend freedom of navigation in the Black and Red Seas and the Strait of Hormuz.
- It recently became known that NATO will deploy additional forces and assets for intelligence and surveillance in the Black Sea region following a series of incidents involving damage to and the sinking of vessels off the coast of Bulgaria and Romania.
- Earlier, the European Parliament urged the EU to consider the possibility of conducting a naval operation in the Black Sea in response to attacks against civilian merchant vessels. MEPs also proposed using unspent funds from the SAFE instrument to help Romania and Bulgaria counter hostile drones that threaten maritime transport.
- On Friday, 23 October, off Romania’s Black Sea coast, a merchant vessel, Khoryv, flying the flag of the Comoros, was likely hit by a drone strike. It was about 13 nautical miles from Constanța, outside Romania’s territorial waters.
- European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expressed concern over the shelling of the vessel.
- Meanwhile, Ukraine is discussing with European partners the possibility of covering additional transport costs for exports of agricultural products via more distant EU ports.
- Because Russia has blocked Ukraine’s deep-water ports on the Black Sea, alternative routes allow only about 2.5 million tonnes of goods to be shipped out per month, which is half of what is needed. Under these constraints, Ukraine risks losing the ability to export up to 30 million tonnes of agricultural produce worth around $10 billion.