Kyiv and Zagreb agreed on the use of Croatian ports for the export of Ukrainian grain. The head of Ukrainian diplomacy, Dmytro Kuleba, spoke on Monday, July 31 in Kyiv with the Croatian Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Gordan Grlić Radman, the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced.
"We have agreed on the possibility of using Croatian ports on the Danube and the Adriatic Sea for the transport of Ukrainian grain. Now we will work on establishing the most efficient routes to these ports and make the most of this opportunity. Every contribution to unblocking exports is a real, effective contribution to world food security. Thank you Croatia for the constructive help," emphasized Dmitro Kuleba.
He added that the main topic of today's talks was weapons. "We talked about Croatia's further support, and I thanked them for the help already provided. For obvious reasons, I will not disclose the details. I will only say that there are concrete agreements that will be implemented soon," said the Ukrainian minister.
In addition, as announced by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the ministers discussed preparations for the International Donor Conference on Demining in Ukraine, which will be held in Zagreb in October.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the negotiations and the press conference in Kyiv took place in a "hybrid format". Dmytro Kuleba participated in the online mode, because he was in self-isolation after a positive test for COVID-19.
Grlić-Radman stated on Twitter that he came to Kiev in order to agree on the continuation of Croatia's aid to Ukraine.
"Croatia continues to provide strong support - including post-war recovery in demining and rehabilitation, energy infrastructure, facilitating the export of grain, ensuring responsibility for crimes and the process of joining the European Union," said the head of Croatian diplomacy.
On July 17, the Kremlin announced the termination of the Agreement on the export of grain across the Black Sea, which Russia and Ukraine concluded separately in July 2022 with the UN and Turkey in Istanbul.
After withdrawing from the grain agreement, Russia has stepped up its attacks on southern Ukraine, particularly on port infrastructure in Odesa.
On July 26, the Minister of Infrastructure, Oleksandr Kubrakov, stated that over the past nine days, Russia has damaged and partially destroyed 26 port infrastructure facilities and five civilian vessels in strikes.
He said that the goal of the Russian attacks "is to deprive the world of Ukrainian grains, thus creating a global food crisis."
According to Kubrakov, Moscow also restricts navigation in the area of occupied Crimea and territorial waters of Bulgaria, thereby blocking the movement of ships to Ukrainian seaports.
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