Turkey seizes Russian ship carrying ‘stolen’ Ukrainian grain

Sergei Lavrov Estonia Turkey Russia Ukraine city Moscow Kazakhstan region Zaporizhzhia COST Waters Cooper

06.07.2022 - 08:43

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theguardian.com:

A Russian-flagged ship carrying thousands of tonnes of grain is being held and investigated by Turkish authorities in the Black Sea port of Karasu over claims its cargo was stolen from Ukraine.

Turkish customs officials acted after Kyiv claimed the Zhibek Zholy was illegally transporting 7,000 tonnes of grain out of Russian-occupied Berdiansk, a Ukrainian port in the south-east of the country.

Officials in Karasu said the ship was waiting off port while inquiries were undertaken into the provenance of the shipment.

Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, confirmed that the ship was Russian-flagged, but appeared to muddy the waters while claiming the Kremlin was seeking clarity on Monday.

“The ship really is Russian-flagged, but I think it belongs to Kazakhstan and the cargo was being carried on a contract between Estonia and Turkey,” Lavrov told reporters.

Kyiv has accused Russia of stealing grain from occupied Ukrainian territory to sell on the international markets. The country’s grain exports are responsible for almost 15% of the world’s total.

The case of the Zhibek Zholy has brought claims of theft into sharp focus and put the Turkish government in a sensitive position as it continues to seek a mediating role between Moscow and Kyiv over the issue of global food supply.

The voyage of the Zhibek Zholy had been proudly announced by the Moscow-appointed head of the occupied Zaporizhzhia region, where the port of Berdiansk lies, as the “first commercial ship” to take supplies out of Russian-controlled ports since the war began.

The office of Ukraine’s prosecutor general subsequently wrote to Turkey’s justice ministry on 30 June, claiming the Zhibek Zholy was involved in the “illegal export of Ukrainian grain” and that it was