Turkey says the first ship carrying Ukrainian grain under a UN-brokered deal to resume grain exports from the war-torn country arrived off Turkey late on August 2.
The Sierra Leone-registered ship, Razoni, which set sail for the Lebanese port of Tripoli from Odesa early on August 1 carrying 26,000 tons of corn, had been originally expected to arrive in Istanbul on August 2 in the early afternoon.
The Razoni, now anchored off the mouth of the Bosphorus, will be inspected on August 3 by a delegation from a special joint coordination center set up last week in Istanbul under the grain export deal and staffed by civilian and military officials from Ukraine, Russia, Turkey, and the UN, Turkey's Defense Ministry said.
In line with agreed procedure, the inspections will not take place in Istanbul's port itself, but at sea, at the mouth of the Bosphorus. The Razoni reached the area at about 6 p.m. local time on August 2 about 36 hours after leaving Odesa.
Media have been warned to stay away from the vessel.
Kyiv says at least 16 more grain ships are waiting to depart from Ukraine.
Turkish Rear Admiral Ozcan Altunbulak, a coordinator at the joint center, said “preparations and planning” are continuing for other ships expected to leave Ukraine’s ports.
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An unnamed senior Turkish official told Reuters earlier on August 2 that Ankara expects roughly one grain ship to leave Ukrainian ports daily as long as the UN-brokered agreement holds.
The halt of grain shipments from Ukraine, one of the world's biggest grain exporters, contributed to a spike in food prices and caused concern about countries in the Middle East and African receiving enough grain and other commodities to feed their populations.
Ukraine blamed a Russian blockade of its ports for the halt in grain shipments, while Russia blamed mines in the water placed by Ukraine as protection from a Russian amphibious assault.
The departure of the Razoni was hailed by the international community, with UN chief Antonio Guterres "warmly" welcoming the move and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg thanking alliance member Turkey for its "pivotal role."
However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said late on August 1 in his nightly address that it was too soon to celebrate.
"At this time, it is too early to draw any conclusions and make any forecasts," Zelenskiy said. "Let's wait and see how the agreement works and whether security will be really guaranteed."