A Joint Coordination Center will liaise with the shipping industry and will publish detailed procedures for ships in the near future, said deputy U.N. spokesperson Farhan Haq.
“The government of Turkey has generously provided a physical space for the Joint Coordination Center where operations are being established now,” said Haq.
“By tomorrow, all parties and the U.N. will have a presence in the Joint Coordination Center in Istanbul. We expect that the first ships may move within a few days.”
Russia’s Black Sea fleet has blocked grain exports from Ukraine since Moscow’s Feb. 24 invasion. Moscow denies responsibility for the food crisis, blaming Western sanctions for slowing its food and fertilizer exports and Ukraine for mining the approaches to its ports.
