Russia says no deal on grain shipments has been reached with Turkey or the Middle East

• Russia denies stealing 600,000 tonnes of Ukrainian grain, according to the Ukrainian Agrarian Council.
• Global leaders have criticised Russian soldiers’ months-long blockade of key Ukrainian ports.
• More than 20 million tonnes of grain is stuck within Ukraine due to the blockade.

Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesman says, that no deal on sending Ukrainian grain to Turkey or the Middle East had yet been reached.

“At this time, no agreements have been made. On a regular conference call with media, he spoke on probable grain agreements with Turkey or the Middle East, saying, “Work is on.”

Read More: Turkey is attempting to persuade Russia and Ukraine to agree to a grain deal to avert food crisis

Peskov told that he had “no knowledge” on whether the first train carriages transporting Ukrainian grain; from the Russian-occupied city of Melitopol had left. The first railway trucks with grain departed Melitopol and headed via Crimea “in the direction of the Middle East”; according to a commander in the Russian-backed military administration of the seized area of Zaporizhzhia province. Russia denies stealing 600,000 tonnes of Ukrainian grain, according to the Ukrainian Agrarian Council.

Read More: ‘Russian aggression,’ not sanctions, is fueling the grain issue