Russia assured Turkey on Saturday that it was not involved in the attack on the Ukrainian port city of Odessa, Turkey’s defense minister said. “The Russians told us that they had absolutely nothing to do with the attack and that they were studying the matter very closely.” said Minister Hulusi Akar, a day after Kiev and Moscow signed an agreement in Istanbul to resume war-blocked Ukrainian grain exports.
Akar said Turkey was “concerned” about the attacks on the port of Odessa, which took place a day after that agreement. “We will continue to take our responsibility in the agreement we signed yesterday,” Akar added. The pact should allow the export of 20 to 25 million tons of grain that has been blocked in Ukraine because of the conflict in the country.
The Turkish minister’s response comes after Ukraine announced on Saturday that Russian missiles would hit the port of Odessa, a major terminal in the Black Sea, a day after Moscow and Kiev signed an agreement to resume war-blocked grain exports.
“The enemy attacked the seaport of Odessa with Kalibr cruise missiles. Two of the missiles were intercepted by air defenses. Two hit the port infrastructure,” Sergiy Bratchuk, representative of the Odessa region, said in a statement on social media.
Kiev said Russia would be responsible for any food crisis if the agreement to export Ukrainian grain from Odessa failed after this attack.
“The Russian missile is Vladimir Putin spitting in the face of UN Secretary-General António Guterres and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who have gone to great lengths to reach an agreement”said Foreign Affairs spokesman Oleg Nikolenko.
“If the agreement reached is not respected, Russia will bear full responsibility for deepening the global food crisis,” he added.
Guterres “unequivocally condemns”
UN Secretary-General António Guterres this Saturday “unequivocally” condemned the missile strikes on Odessa, Ukraine, a port key to the UN-brokered grain export agreement between Russia and Ukraine.
“The Secretary-General unequivocally condemns the attacks reported today in the Ukrainian port of Odessa,” his deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said in a statement, adding that “full implementation (of the agreement) by the Russian Federation, Ukraine and Turkey is absolutely necessary…”
Borrell speaks of ‘total disrespect from Russia’
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell criticized what he called a “reprehensible” Russian missile attack on Odessa, Ukraine, after Kiev and Moscow signed an agreement to export grain from the Black Sea port.
“Getting to a crucial grain export location the day after the signing of the Istanbul accords is particularly reprehensible and shows yet again Russia’s utter disregard for international laws and obligations,” he wrote on Twitter.
Source: El heraldo
John Cameron is a journalist at The Nation View specializing in world news and current events, particularly in international politics and diplomacy. With expertise in international relations, he covers a range of topics including conflicts, politics and economic trends.
