russia deliberately hindering operation of grain corridor – Zelensky

russia deliberately slows down the work of the "grain corridor," as a result of which the waiting time for ships increases to 3-5 weeks, and several million tons of Ukrainian agricultural products are under-exported every month.

President Volodymyr Zelensky stated this at the TRT World Forum, which is being held in Istanbul, Ukrinform reports.

"Now there are more than 13 million tons of agricultural products for export, and we can give tens of millions more tons. Our ports involved in the grain export initiative are working at only half their capacity. And this is only because russia is slowing down the implementation of exports, keeping ships waiting for inspections. As of today, more than 80 ships are waiting," Zelensky said.

He emphasized that hundreds of thousands of people worldwide receive less food and overpay for food "because one state is blackmailing everyone with food."

"The average waiting time for ships is 3-5 weeks. Because of this, 2-3 million tons of Ukrainian agricultural products are under-exported every month," the President said.

He is convinced that there is potential to solve this problem, mainly if several directions of Russian aggression against Ukraine are eliminated, and the Mykolaiv region's and its ports' safety is guaranteed, which will be another step towards ensuring global food security.

The head of state emphasized that Ukraine, Turkey, and the UN jointly stop the threat of hunger, and the Grain From Ukraine initiative helps the poorest countries maintain stability.

Reference

In Istanbul on November 17, Ukraine, the United Nations, and Turkey agreed to extend the "initiative for the safe transportation of agricultural products across the Black Sea" for another 120 days.

It started working on July 22, and the first vessel with Ukrainian food within its borders left the port of Odesa.

From August 1, 531 ships left the ports of Odesa, exporting 13.3 million tons of Ukrainian food to the countries of Asia, Europe, and Africa.