Ukraine hopes to continue grain agreement without Russia: Zelensky

Kiev: Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that his country hopes to continue the Black Sea grain agreement. Zelensky’s spokesman Sergei Nykiforov gave this information on Facebook. Russia has opted out of this agreement. Zelensky was quoted as saying, “We can do without Russia so that we can use this Black Sea corridor.” Zelensky said he ordered the Foreign Ministry to prepare an official signal to the United Nations and Turkey regarding the continuation of the accord, Xinhua news agency reported. Zelensky said the companies that own the ships are ready to continue supplying grain if Ukraine and Turkey allow the ships to pass through. In July last year, Ukraine and Russia separately signed an agreement with Turkey and the United Nations in Istanbul to resume food shipments from Ukrainian ports to international markets via the Black Sea. Since then, the agreement has been extended several times and is set to expire on July 18. According to media reports, earlier Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Russia has objections to the extension of the grain deal. Ukraine exported 32.5 million tons of food to 45 countries in the first 11 months of the agreement, Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported on Monday, citing data from the State Enterprise Administration of Sea Ports of Ukraine