UNITED NATIONS, Aug 04 (APP): The first, eagerly-awaited commercial shipment of grain to leave the Ukrainian port of Odesa since Russia\u2019s invasion more than five months ago, was cleared to proceed to Lebanon Wednesday, after a scheduled inspection stopover in Istanbul.<\/p>\n
In line with the UN-partnered Black Sea Grain Initiative that was facilitated by the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on 22 July, the crew of the merchant vessel Razoni and its 26,000-tonne cargo of Ukrainian corn underwent checks lasting three hours.<\/p>\n
The Sierra Leone-flagged ship arrived in Istanbul\u2019s waters on Tuesday evening, after sailing from Ukraine\u2019s main Black Sea port of Odesa on Monday.<\/p>\n
\u201cA joint civilian inspection team comprising officials from the Russian Federation, T\u00fcrkiye, Ukraine and the United Nations visited the merchant vessel Razoni this morning,\u201d the Black Sea Grain Initiative Joint Coordination Centre (JCC) said in a statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis marks the conclusion of an initial \u2018proof of concept\u2019 operation\u201d, the statement continued, adding that three ports in Ukraine were due to resume the export of millions of tonnes of wheat, corn and other crops \u201cat a time of global food insecurity\u201d.<\/p>\n
In addition to shipping millions of tonnes of food from Ukraine, the initiative also envisages the export of fertilizer needed by the world\u2019s farmers, \u201cunder close monitoring\u201d, the Joint Coordination Centre statement explained.<\/p>\n
It noted that the inspectors had spoken to the Razoni\u2019s crew and gained \u201cvaluable information\u201d about the vessel\u2019s journey along the maritime humanitarian corridor in the Black Sea that was agreed by the signatories of the Black Sea Grain Initiative.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe JCC will use this voyage in its ongoing work on fine-tuning procedures and processes to enable the continuation of safe passage of commercial vessels across the Black Sea under the Initiative.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a related development, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, warned that war in Ukraine was \u201cthreatening one of the world\u2019s biggest nuclear power programmes\u201d.<\/p>\n
Addressing the Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference at the UN in New York on Tuesday, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, said the IAEA\u2019s seven indispensable pillars of nuclear safety and security, were being violated.<\/p>\n
The situation is particularly worrying at Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant in the southeastern city of Enerhodar. The plant has been occupied and reportedly used as a military base by Russian forces since March.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile this war rages on, inaction is unconscionable,\u201d Grossi said. \u201cIf an accident occurs at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant, we will not have a natural disaster to blame. We will have only ourselves to answer to,\u201d the IAEA chief added, before calling for access for an IAEA team of experts and inspectors.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, five months since the Russian invasion, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, reported on Tuesday that more than 10 million people from Ukraine have crossed their country\u2019s borders seeking shelter in neighbouring countries.<\/p>\n
Latest data from the UN agency\u2019s displacement portal indicated there have been 10,350,489 border crossings from Ukraine since 24 February this year, with more than 4.2 million journeys back into Ukraine since the end of that month.<\/p>\n
Amid ongoing fighting, UNHCR noted that many more people have been forced to flee their homes inside Ukraine – and that they continue need protection and support.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
UNITED NATIONS, Aug 04 (APP): The first, eagerly-awaited commercial shipment of grain to leave the Ukrainian port of Odesa since Russia\u2019s invasion more than five months ago, was cleared to proceed to Lebanon Wednesday, after a scheduled inspection stopover in Istanbul. In line with the […]<\/p>\n
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