The further work on grain export will depend on how these ships pass. Ukraine signed an agreement with Turkey and the UN, and when Russia suspended its participation in the grain corridor, there were consultations with the signatory countries and the Ukrainian side. We decided that the ships should continue to move, because we have committed ourselves to providing a food corridor to those countries that need Ukrainian grain. This is guaranteed by Turkey and the UN, and this was confirmed by the fact that the ships went towards the Bosphorus and are heading there for inspection in the context of the work of the coordinating council.
This does not change the fact that Turkey, for its part, continues to conduct diplomatic negotiations for Russia to return to work within the framework of their agreements.
If this is not done, then our partners – the UN and Turkey – will consider other options to ensure that the export goes. We have already heard threats from Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary of the Russian president, who said that since Russia has ceased participation [in the grain agreement], it does not assume security guarantees.
Let's imagine a situation where in a caravan moving to the Bosphorus there is a ship that works as part of the World Food Program to provide food for residents – and Russia suddenly starts shelling these ships. This will lead to even stronger consequences than those that Russia [has due to] bombing the civilian population of Ukraine. The world will react even more categorically, and there will be serious sanctions and confrontation. This may lead to the fact that Ukraine will receive more serious weapons, which could be a guarantee of safety for ships in the Black Sea.
It is difficult to predict now, but we do not exclude the option that we and our partners will return to the conversation about having these ships escorted by the military forces of one of the countries or different countries. This was discussed even before the ports were open: so that the allied state, which supports Ukraine in exports that guarantee food security, would be able to escort ships to the Bosphorus.
