Eurasia Press & News
Ukraine has asked Turkey to detain a Russian-flagged cargo ship it says is carrying Ukrainian wheat. The Russian-flagged cargo ship Zhibek Zholy is carrying 4,500 metric tons of Ukrainian grain taken from the Russian-occupied port of Berdyansk, Ukraine’s foreign ministry has charged, according to Reuters. The Ukrainian prosecutor general’s office has charged that the cargo ship is carrying 7,000 metric tons of cargo and is heading to the port at Karasu, Turkey.
The Ukrainian prosecutor general’s office asked Turkey to “conduct an inspection of this sea vessel, seize samples of grain for forensic examination, demand information on the location of such grain,” according to a letter dated June 30 and sent to Turkey’s Justice Ministry, that was seen by Reuters, it reported over the weekend.
The website Vessel Finder reported that the Zhibek Zholy arrived at the Turkish port of Karasu late on Friday and was still there on Sunday. Ukraine has accused Russia of stealing grain from Ukrainian areas that is has captured since it invaded Ukraine in February; Russia denies this claim. Many countries in the Middle East and in other parts of the world fear a global food crisis if Ukrainian grain is not exported. Turkish grain buyers previously have been accused of receiving stolen grain from Ukraine, Al Jazeera reported, but Turkish investigators say that so far they have not been able to identify any stolen grain shipments.
