The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine is disappointed that the Russian ship Zhibek Zholy, carrying Ukrainian grain stolen by Russian invaders, was released from the Turkish port of Karasu, due to which the Turkish ambassador in Kyiv was summoned to the Ukrainian diplomatic mission.
“The Foreign Ministry and Ukraine’s international partners condemn the criminal actions of Russia to steal and export grain from Ukrainian territory to foreign countries. A particularly egregious case was the Russian ship Zhibek Zholy, which tried to transport stolen grain from occupied Berdiansk to the Turkish port of Karasu,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine said in a statement published on Thursday.
It clarifies that due to the prompt intervention of the relevant authorities of Ukraine, this ship was unable to unload the stolen goods and was detained. A request was sent to the Turkish side to arrest the ship and cargo.
“At the same time, ignoring the appeal of the Ukrainian side, the vessel was released on the evening of July 6,” the diplomatic department said.
According to the MFA, the Ukrainian side “received this information with deep disappointment and appeals to the Turkish side with an urgent request to investigate this situation and provide an exhaustive response to the requests of the relevant authorities of Ukraine, as well as to prevent similar cases in the future by all means.”
“Due to the unacceptable situation that has developed, the Turkish Ambassador to Kyiv has been summoned to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry,” the Foreign Ministry said.
