Alghadeer TV Alghadeer TV
Turkish customs authorities detained a Russian-flagged cargo ship carrying grain at Ukraine’s request, reports said Monday.
A Reuters report said the Zhibek Zholy ship anchored about one kilometer from shore and outside of the Red Sea Port of Karasu near the Bosphorus Strait on Sunday, with no obvious signs of movement aboard or by other vessels nearby.
Ukraine had previously asked Turkey to detain the cargo ship, according to documents seen by Reuters.
In a separate report, Sputnik cited a source with the Turkish customs office as saying that the Russian vessel had been suspected of transporting Ukrainian grain.
“The vessel is here but there is no clarity and no concrete decision has been taken. A request was made [by Ukraine to detain the ship] and an investigation is underway,” the source was quoted as saying.
Ukrainian officials earlier said that 4,500 tonnes of grain were seized from the port city of Berdyansk in the southeastern Province of Zaporizhzhia, which is under the control of Russia at present.
In a letter dated 30 June to Turkey’s Justice Ministry, Ukraine’s prosecutor general’s office claimed the ship was involved in the “illegal export of Ukrainian grain” from Berdyansk and headed to Karasu in Turkey.
The Ukrainian prosecutor general’s office asked Turkey to “conduct an inspection of this sea vessel, seize samples of grain for forensic examination, demand information on the location of such grain”, the letter said.
Vladimir Rogov, a member of the new military-civilian administration of the Zaporizhzhia region, accused the West of piracy.
“Those who created this situation are blocking grain sales and hunting Russian ships carrying that grain. Simultaneously, they are accusing Russia of causing global hunger,” Rogov was quoted as saying by Sputnik.
