Borrell expects an agreement "this week" to unblock Ukrainian grain exports

BRUSSELS, 18 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The High Representative for Foreign Policy of the European Union, Josep Borrell, has trusted this Monday that the agreement to unblock exports from Ukrainian ports of cereal production trapped in the country by the Russian invasion will be closed "this week".

The negotiators of Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the United Nations announced last week a first understanding on "technical details" and the creation of a coordination center with which to guarantee the security of the routes in the Black Sea, but the agreement must be finalized this week.

"We are doing everything possible to transport the grain by other routes, through solidarity routes, from Romania, Bulgaria, the Black Sea, but it is not enough. That is why I hope, and I think there is hope, that this week it will be possible reach an agreement to unblock Odessa and other Ukrainian ports," Borrell told reporters in Brussels, where he is attending a meeting of EU foreign ministers.

The head of European diplomacy has warned that "the lives of thousands, more than thousands tens of thousands, of people depend on this agreement" and therefore has asked that the talks not be understood as a "diplomatic game", but as a matter of "life or death" for many.

"Russia has to unblock and allow the exploitation of Ukrainian grain or we will have to continue denouncing that it uses food as a weapon, without any consideration for the lives of human beings," Borrell stressed.

Despite what Borrell said, others have been less optimistic, such as the German Agriculture Minister, Cem Özdemir, who has doubted the chances of success in the Istanbul talks due to Moscow's lack of credibility in the negotiations.

"Those who still believe in Putin's word can also believe in Santa Claus or the Easter bunny. This is just as serious and just as based on real events," Özdemir said upon arrival at the meeting in Brussels with the rest of the EU partners.