In Istanbul, no inspections of dry cargo have been conducted for the past two days within the framework of the Black Sea grain initiative, as reported by the representative of the UN Secretary-General Stefan Dujarric, citing the Interfax news agency.
"I spoke on the phone with our colleagues from Istanbul. Inspections were not carried out there neither yesterday nor today," Dujarric noted at a press conference.
He also added that active discussions are currently taking place in the Joint Coordination Center on this issue with representatives of Ukraine and Russia, supported by Turkey. The lack of agreement between the parties is cited by the Secretary-General as the reason for suspending inspections.
At the same time, Dujarric emphasized that the challenging inspections "only underscore the UN's commitment to full compliance with the grain deal."
He also mentioned that a meeting to discuss this issue will take place in April in New York between the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.