Ukraine: “Illegal” cargo
Lebanon seizes ship with grain
07/31/2022, 10:00 a.m
Since the beginning of the war, Russia is said to have stolen mountains of grain from Ukraine. A ship is now being detained in Lebanon at the request of the Ukrainian embassy. Here, too, the accusation is that the ship’s cargo is said to be illegal.
A Syrian-flagged ship carrying a cargo of grain was arrested in Lebanon on Saturday at the request of the Ukrainian embassy in Beirut. Prosecutor Ghassan Queidat commissioned the police to investigate the cargo of the “Laodicea” that arrived in the port of Tripoli, a judicial officer said. He “ordered the seizure of the ship pending the completion of the investigation”.
According to Ukrainian Ambassador Ihor Ostash, the loaded grain came from Russian-occupied areas of his country. The diplomat contacted Lebanese President Michel Aoun on Thursday about the ship’s “illegal” cargo. According to the judicial officer, the Lebanese police have been instructed to cooperate with the Ukrainian embassy in their investigation.
According to the first findings, the shipping company of the “Laodicea” belongs to a Turkish national and the grain to a Syrian trader, as the official explained. Part of the cargo should therefore be unloaded in Lebanon, the rest was destined for Syria. According to the Lebanese Foreign Ministry, it is “barley and flour”.
Kyiv accuses Moscow of stealing grain
A customs officer said the ship’s papers were “in order and there is no evidence the goods were stolen”. The Turkish authorities have already confiscated the ship “should it fall under sanctions”. In Lebanon, which is badly hit economically, there is currently a major bread shortage.
Ukraine regularly accuses Russia of stealing agricultural products, and grain in particular, from occupied territories. At the same time, Ukraine is currently preparing to resume its grain exports as part of an agreement with Moscow negotiated under UN supervision. Millions of tons of Ukrainian grain cannot be exported at the moment because of a Russian naval blockade and Ukrainian sea mines.