Today the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement explaining why all shipment of grain through the Black Sea was halted on April 11: “The inspection of ships under the Black Sea grain deal was disrupted this week due to Ukrainian corruption. Ukrainian officials are profiting from the leverage they have with the agreement.” Ukrainian port officials “started taking bribes from shipowners” to break line, something also reported in Ukrainian media. Russia says that their proposal to allow ships “bound for African nations” be allowed to go through was met with “active resistance of the Ukrainians, who didn’t want to lose their source of extra illicit income.” Moscow evidently refused to allow the ship inspections, as being carried out, to go forward.
The spokesman for UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Stephane Dujarric, releaesed a statement sayinig that the parties “needed more time to reach an agreement on operational priorities.”
