KARASU: A Russian-flagged cargo ship at the centre of a fight over grain between Kyiv and Moscow remained anchored Tuesday off Turkey’s Black Sea coast four days after its unexpected arrival.
Ukraine alleges that the Zhibek Zholy had set off from its Kremlin-occupied port of Berdyansk after picking up illegally seized wheat.
Moscow concedes that the 7,000-tonne vessel was sailing under the Russian flag but denies any wrongdoing.
And Nato-member Turkey has said nothing official in public as it tries to maintain its open relations with both Moscow and Kyiv while facing Ukrainian pressure to seize the ship.
The saga started when a Kremlin-installed leader in southeastern Ukraine last Thursday announced the launch of the first official grain shipments across the Black Sea since Russia invaded its neighbour in February.
Russia claims to have “nationalised” Ukrainian state infrastructure and to be buying crops from local farmers.
Ukraine says the grain is being illegally seized and used to fund Russia’s war effort.
“Seven thousand tonnes of grain are heading toward friendly countries,” local Russian-backed administration head Evgeny Balitsky said on Telegram.
Marine traffic websites then showed the vessel reaching Turkey’s Black Sea port of Karasu and stopping about a kilometre (half a mile) off the coast.
The ship’s arrival was announced by Ukraine’s ambassador to Turkey—one of the most vocal officials in the entire dispute.
He asked Turkey on Twitter to take “corresponding measures” and then told Ukrainian state television that the ship had been impounded by local coastguards.
Turkish officials still said nothing even though the 140-metre (460-foot) vessel was now clearly visible by holidaymakers lounging on Karasu’s sandy beach.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov conceded to reporters on Monday that the Zhibek Zholy had not reached its intended destination.
But he also played down Moscow’s role or the ship’s importance to Russia’s efforts to resume marine traffic from parts of Ukraine now under its control.
