ANKARA (Reuters) – A U.N spokesperson said on Monday that “much more needs to be done” to clear a backlog of more than 150 ships involved in a Black Sea grain-export deal, and Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the United Nations had all acknowledged the problem.
“There are currently over 150 vessels waiting around Istanbul to move and these delays have the potential to cause disruptions to the supply chain and port operations,” said Ismini Palla, U.N. spokesperson for the Black Sea Grain Initiative.
The agreement, brokered by the United Nations and Turkey in July, paved the way for Ukraine to resume grain exports from Black Sea ports that had been shut since Russia invaded. Moscow also won guarantees for its own grain and fertiliser exports.
(Reporting by Jonathan Spicer; editing by Ece Toksabay)
