The first ship with grain that left Odessa moored in the Syrian port of Tartus

Sierra Leone-flagged cargo ship Razoni with 26,000 tons of corn anchored in the Syrian port of Tartus, informed Reuters, citing sources.

The Razoni is the first vessel to leave the port of Odessa two weeks ago as part of the “grain deal”. It originally went to Lebanon, but the buyer ended up refused to acquire the first batch of Ukrainian grain due to a delay in delivery, the Ukrainian Embassy in Lebanon reported.

Earlier, Kyiv accused Syria of importing at least 150,000 tons of grain, which was allegedly taken from Ukrainian warehouses after the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine. The country severed diplomatic relations with Syria due to the recognition of the last independence of the DNR and LNR.

On July 22, representatives of Turkey and the UN signed separate agreements with representatives of Russia and Ukraine on the export of Ukrainian grain, as well as on assistance in the export of Russian grain and fertilizers. On July 27, the Joint Coordination Center for the export of grain began its work in Istanbul.

According to the Interdepartmental Coordination Headquarters of Russia for Humanitarian Response, at the moment from Ukraine taken out more than 450,000 tons of food, including: 379,981 tons of corn, 50,301 tons of flour, 11,000 tons of soybeans, 6,000 tons of sunflower oil, 3,050 tons of wheat, 2,914 tons of sunflower.

On August 11, Deputy Director of the Information and Press Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry Ivan Nechaev declaredthat the destinations of ships leaving the ports of Ukraine with grain are in Western countries, and not in the starving states of Africa. According to him, the range of goods is dominated not by wheat, the shortage of which in Africa and the Middle East was mentioned by Western politicians, but by corn and sunflower oil, and they are being transported to European ports. This, according to Nechaev, casts doubt on the fact that global food security really depended on the grain deal to unblock Ukrainian ports.

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