The passage of civilian ships through the temporary corridor that Ukraine established in the Black Sea has nothing to do with the prospects for reviving the Black Sea grain deal.
Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said this while commenting on the fact that two ships have already left the port of Odesa through this corridor, the CFTS portal reports, citing the Russian-based Interfax news agency.
"This has nothing to do with the prospects for reviving the grain deal," he said. "The prospects for reviving the grain deal depend directly on the actual implementation, not just in words, of the promises, the pledges made to the Russian side, which means implementation of the part of the deal pertaining to Russia."
"The temporary corridor is a completely different matter, and our Defense Ministry is certainly monitoring it as necessary," Peskov added.
Meanwhile, according to Interfax, the foreign ministers of Russia and Turkey are scheduled to discuss the delivery of 1 million tons of grain from Russia to Turkey with Qatari financial support at their upcoming meeting. Russia proposes to supply this grain at a concessionary price for processing in Turkey and subsequent delivery to other countries. The Kremlin calls this political project an "optimal working alternative" to the grain deal.
As previously reported, the second vessel to use the temporary corridor that Ukraine established for merchant ships traveling to/from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports left the Odesa port on 27 August. The Primus bulk carrier has now successfully passed through the Bosporus and is due to deliver a cargo of steel products to the port of Dakar by mid-September.
In connection with this, Ukraine's Foreign Affairs Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in Paris (France) that Ukraine is interested in renewing the Black Sea Grain Initiative. Meanwhile, according to him, Ukraine intends to develop its alternative route for exporting agricultural products, which has already been used by two ships.
