Ukrainian Ambassador to Turkey Vasily Bodnar announced the detention of a Russian dry cargo ship carrying Ukrainian grain, Reuters reports.
“We have full cooperation. Now the ship is standing at the entrance to the port, it has been detained by the customs authorities of Turkey,” Bodnar said on the air of the Ukrainian TV channel. As the ambassador noted, investigators will make a decision on the fate of the ship during a meeting scheduled for July 4.
The fact of the ship's detention was confirmed to RIA Novosti by a source in the customs of the Turkish port. According to him, the ship is now near the port in the city of Karasu.
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Earlier, Reuters wrote that the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine asked the Turkish authorities to inspect the Zhibek Zholy vessel, which, according to the maritime administration, loaded «about 4,500 tons grain» from Berdyansk. In addition, the Ukrainian authorities proposed, together with Turkish colleagues, to investigate the grain and find out information about its origin.
Also, the export of seven thousand tons of grain from the port in Berdyansk on June 30 was reported by the Russian-appointed «head» of the administration of the Zaporozhye region Yevhen Balitsky .
A representative of the Kazakh company KTZ Express clarified in a conversation with Reuters that the ship belongs to them, but the vessel was leased by the Russian company Green-Line.
Updated at 18:07 . Added information on the source of RIA Novosti.