Russian Foreign Minister: "No Military Operation Ban in Black Sea Grain Export Resumption Agreement"

"Russian Battleships Threatened, Ammunition Depots to Be Attacked"
Ukraine "Hopes to Resume Grain Exports This Week"

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] As grain exports are expected to resume soon under the Black Sea grain export resumption agreement signed by Russia, Ukraine, the United Nations, and T?rkiye (Turkey), concerns are rising over the potential collapse of the agreement as Russia stated it may continue military operations against Ukrainian ports.

According to Russia's TASS news agency on the 25th (local time), Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a press conference during his visit to the Republic of Congo, "The Black Sea grain export resumption agreement signed on the 22nd did not prohibit Russia's special military operations," adding, "We have targeted only military objectives, and we can attack Ukrainian warships or anti-ship missile depots that pose a threat to the Russian fleet."

Earlier, Russia and Ukraine held a four-party meeting mediated by the United Nations and T?rkiye on the 22nd and agreed to resume grain exports from the Black Sea. According to the agreement, grain exports are planned to resume from three Ukrainian ports: Odesa, Yuzhny, and Chornomorsk. Although on the 23rd, just one day after the agreement, Russian forces launched a missile strike on the Ukrainian port of Odesa, raising concerns about the collapse of the agreement, Ukraine has stated it will maintain the agreement, and grain exports are expected to begin soon.

According to CNN, Yuri Vaskov, Deputy Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine, said, "We hope the first grain export will resume from the Chornomorsk port within this week," and added, "Within the next two weeks, preparations for resuming exports at other ports such as Odesa and Yuzhny will be completed."

Under the grain export resumption agreement, Ukraine, Russia, the United Nations, and T?rkiye agreed to establish a joint coordination center in Istanbul and dispatch 20 personnel to ensure compliance with the agreement and mutual monitoring. The coordination center is expected to be established by the 27th. However, there are concerns that if Russia continues military operations against Ukraine's major grain export ports, the agreement may collapse.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.