Urgent steps are required to relieve a backlog of more than 150 ships involved in a landmark deal that allows Ukraine to export grain from ports in the Black Sea, a United Nations spokesperson said on Monday.
The comments come as Kyiv accused Russia of blocking full implementation of the agreement, which was brokered by the U.N. and Türkiye in July to ease a global food crisis and which comes up for renewal next month. Russia has threatened to pull out over its own complaints.
Vessels carrying grains and other foodstuffs to and from Ukrainian ports must be inspected by teams organized by the four-party Joint Coordination Centre (JCC) at anchorages off Istanbul in Türkiye.
"There are currently over 150 vessels waiting around Istanbul to move and these delays have the potential to cause disruptions to the supply chain and port operations," said Ismini Palla, U.N. spokesperson for the Black Sea Grain Initiative.
She said the four-party JCC recently increased the number of inspection teams to five.
Reuters reported the backlog jumped last month, leaving anchored ships in the Marmara Sea stretching out beyond the horizon off Istanbul.
Ukraine said on Monday that Russian inspections that have been creating "significant" delays for the export of Ukrainian food products were "politically motivated" and a cause for concern.
"We have reason to believe delays in Russia's inspections of the grain initiative's vessels are politically motivated," the foreign ministry said in a statement.
Kyiv on Sunday accused Russia of blocking the full implementation of the Black Sea grain deal, stressing its three ports that were reopened under the accord were working only at 25%-30% of their capacity.
The four parties to the deal – Russia, Ukraine and brokers Türkiye and the U.N. – are currently negotiating a possible extension and expansion beyond its Nov. 19 deadline.
"The U.N. convenes the parties daily and has urged full and good faith participation in the (deal) and the need for additional urgent measures to be taken so the supply chain does not get disrupted and the Initiative continues to deliver more and much-needed food to the world," Palla added.
The grains-export deal paved the way for Ukraine to resume grain exports from three ports that had been shut since the Russian invasion. Moscow also won guarantees for its own grain and fertilizer exports.
Yet, Moscow has also complained that the deal was not directing grain to the world's poorest countries, and cast doubt on whether it will opt to renew it in the future.
Separately, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday that Moscow has asked the U.N. for data on the destination and end-consumers for Ukrainian grain exports, saying that "corrections" to a deal to unblock shipments from Black Sea ports would depend on this information.
Speaking at a press briefing broadcast on state television, Lavrov said: "This is not just curiosity. The correction or redirection of further actions to implement the grain deal depend on it."
Ukraine has so far exported 8.5 million metric tons of grain and other foodstuffs aboard 379 outbound voyages under the deal, the JCC said.
During his briefing, Lavrov said that between 5% and 7% of the grain concerned was reaching the world's poorest countries, with around 50% of the exports being shipped to the European Union.
Amir Abdulla, the U.N. coordinator for the Black Sea Grain Initiative, told Reuters this month he had asked Russia and other parties to end "full-blown" inspections of outgoing vessels to ease the backlog.
