UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has thanked Türkiye for its efforts and leadership as a nascent deal to resume grain exports from Ukraine saw its first ship depart from the port of Odessa.
The departure of the Sierra Leone-flagged dry cargo ship Razoni marked an "important starting point" for the agreement, Guterres said on Monday.
"It must be the first of many commercial ships bringing relief and stability to global food markets," he added.
"Today's departure is an enormous collective achievement by the Joint Coordination Center, set up last week in Istanbul under United Nations auspices, with representatives from Ukraine, the Russian Federation, and Türkiye," the UN chief told reporters.
"Ensuring that grain, fertilisers, and other food-related items are available at reasonable prices to developing countries is a humanitarian imperative. People on the verge of famine need these agreements to work in order to survive," he said.
The Razoni is due to arrive in Istanbul on Tuesday for an inspection under the historic Ankara-brokered agreement to facilitate grain and foodstuff exports. The vessel is bound for the Lebanese port of Tripoli in the country's north.
Türkiye, the UN, Russia, and Ukraine signed a deal on July 22 to reopen three Ukrainian ports — Odessa, Chernomorsk, and Yuzhny — for grain that has been stuck for months because of ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, which is now in its sixth month.
First shipment welcomed
The European Union and NATO welcomed the grain shipment's departure as a "first step" towards easing the food crisis.
EU spokesperson Peter Stano, however, cautions the bloc still expects the "implementation of the whole deal and resumption of Ukrainian exports to the customers around the world."
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said, Western allies "strongly support the full implementation of the deal to ease the global food crisis caused by Russia's war in Ukraine".
"I thank our Ally #Türkiye for its pivotal role," he continued in a tweet.
Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said on Twitter that the first grain ship has left, adding: "Thanks to the support of all our partner countries & @UN we were able to full implement the Agreement signed in Istanbul."
Russia, for its part, said the first grain ship to leave Odessa was "very positive" news.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said he hoped the agreement will be implemented by all sides.
"This is a good opportunity to test the implementation of the agreements that were agreed upon at the Istanbul talks," Peskov said.
Source: agencies
