According to an agreement between Ukraine and Russia, Ukrainian ports that export grain on the Black Sea may not be attacked. However, Kyiv accuses Moscow of firing rockets at Odessa. The Kremlin rejects this, according to Ankara.
Russia has denied responsibility for the missile attack on the port of the Ukrainian city of Odessa, Turkey said. Turkey is in contact with Ukraine and Russia, and Moscow has given assurances that it has nothing to do with the attack and wants to investigate the incident, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said. Ukraine accuses Russia of shelling the port of Odessa. According to Ukrainian military information, two Russian missiles were intercepted by air defenses and two more hit the commercial port.
Akar further said that representatives of the UN, Ukraine and Russia are already cooperating with Turkey in a joint coordination center. The establishment of such a center in Istanbul to monitor grain exports was agreed on Friday.
Both Russia and Ukraine signed an agreement with Turkey on Friday in Istanbul, in the presence of UN Secretary-General Guterres, which makes the export of Ukrainian grain possible again. In the agreement, Russia pledges to let ships sail along a sea corridor and not to fire at them. The ports involved, such as the port in Odessa, should therefore not be attacked.
“We are really concerned that such an incident has taken place immediately after the grain delivery agreement we reached yesterday,” Akar said. Turkey continues to fulfill its commitments of the agreement, it must now be implemented quickly. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan did not mention the rocket attack during a speech in Kayseri, central Anatolia.
