A Ukraine grain ship passes through the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul, Turkey, on August 3, 2022.(Photo: AFP/VNA)

Ukraine’s restoration ministry said the same day that the initiative is in danger of being shut down after the April 13 incident related to inspections of ships.

The Black Sea Grain Initiative was brokered with Russia and Ukraine by the United Nations and Turkey last July and renewed for a further 120 days in November. The aim was to ease the global food crisis triggered by the conflict between Russia and Ukraine in February last year.

On March 18, Russia agreed to extend a Ukraine grain export deal by 60 days but will withdraw from the initiative if the MoU between Russia and the United Nations relating to the export of Russian food and fertilizer shows no progress.

The Black Sea grain deal specifies that all ships be inspected by officials from Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the UN in waters near Turkey on the way in and out of Ukraine.

The Russian Foreign Ministry last Thursday reported that 28 vessels carrying more than one million tons of food are awaiting inspection in the territorial waters of Turkey. It accused UN staff in the Joint Coordination Center of refusing to draw up an inspection schedule.