WASHINGTON, Jul 20 White House Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby did not respond to a question about what the US would do if Russia attacked civilian ships going to or from Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea.
«As for what would have been done, I don't want to speculate,» Kirby said.
«We continue to urge the Russian Federation to return to the grain deal. We will monitor how they (Russia — ed.) will behave in this regard. There are no grounds for attacking civilian ships going to Ukrainian ports,» he added.
Earlier, Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said that contrary to the information voiced in the United States, Russia is not preparing provocations against civilian ships in the Black Sea,
The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation previously stated that from July 20, all ships sailing in the Black Sea to Ukrainian ports will be considered as potential carriers of military cargo. Earlier on Thursday, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said that from July 21, Kyiv will consider ships sailing in the Black Sea in the direction of Russian seaports as carrying military cargo «with all the associated risks.»
The grain deal, which was concluded on July 22, 2022 by representatives of Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and the UN, involves the export of Ukrainian grain and food, as well as fertilizers across the Black Sea from three ports, including Odessa. The coordination of vessel traffic is handled by the Joint Coordination Center in Istanbul. Russian President Vladimir Putin pointed out that the West exports most of the Ukrainian grain to their own states, and not to needy countries in Africa. The grain initiative is an integral part of the package agreement. The second part — the Russia-UN memorandum, designed for three years — provides for the unblocking of Russian exports of food and fertilizers, among the main tasks were the reconnection of the Russian Agricultural Bank to SWIFT, the resumption of supplies of agricultural machinery, spare parts and services, the restoration of the Togliatti-Odessa ammonia pipeline and a number of other measures. As noted in Moscow, this part of the package agreement was not implemented.