Ankara: Turkey has intercepted a Russian-flagged cargo ship off the Black Sea coast and is investigating Ukraine’s claim that it was stealing grain.
Ukraine’s ambassador to Turkey said on Sunday Zhibek Jholi Was detained by Turkish customs officials. Ukraine had previously told Ankara to stop it, according to an official and documents seen by Reuters.
Kyiv has accused Moscow of stealing grain from areas that have been seized by Russian forces since the invasion began in late February. The Kremlin has previously denied that Russia stole any Ukrainian grain.
“On request, the ship named Zhibek Jholi was intercepted from Karasu (port),” a senior official said. “The allegations are being thoroughly investigated. It is not written on the grain to whom it belongs.”
He said Turkey is in contact with Russia, the United Nations and third parties on the issue.
On Sunday, Reuters reporters saw the ship at anchor outside the port of Karasu, about 1 km off the coast in north-west Turkey’s Sakarya province. At that time there were no clear signs of movement on board or by other nearby ships.
Ukraine’s ambassador, Vasil Bodnar, said on Ukraine’s national television that the fate of the ship would be decided by a meeting of investigators on Monday and that Ukraine was looking forward to the seizure of grain.
A Ukrainian foreign ministry official told Reuters on Friday, citing information from Ukraine’s Maritime Administration, that the 7,146 dwt Zhibek Zholi loaded the first cargo of about 4,500 tonnes of Ukrainian grain from the Russian-held port of Burdyansk in southern Ukraine. was.
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