Blinken and Romania's Foreign Minister discuss grain export from Ukraine

Tuesday, 25 July 2023, 00:29

Antony Blinken, United States Secretary of State, and Luminita Odobescu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Romania, discussed the issue of food security due to Russia's shelling of Ukrainian ports during a telephone conversation on Monday.

Source: Blinken and Odobescu on Twitter

Details: The Romanian Foreign Minister said the conversation with the American counterpart concerned the strengthening of the strategic partnership of both countries, the security of the Black Sea region and the support of the export potential of grain from Ukraine: "We agreed to maintain close coordination and support for Ukraine and Moldova."

Blinken, in turn, noted that he and his Romanian counterpart discussed joint support for Ukraine and global food security, as well as bilateral relations and security issues in the Black Sea.

Background:

On 17 July, Russia announced the suspension of the "grain deal" and threatened "risks" to the parties who decide to continue the initiative without the participation of the Russian Federation. In addition, Moscow began massive shelling of the port infrastructure of Odesa and the Danube ports.
In particular, on the night of 23-24 July, the Russian military launched another attack on the Odesa Oblast. The Ukrainian military states that the target of the attack was the port infrastructure of the Danube. A hangar with grain was destroyed due to the strikes, and tanks for storing other cargo were damaged.
Against this background, Gabrielius Landsbergis, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, called for more active assistance for Ukraine.

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