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Egypt accepted a vessel said to be carrying the grain stolen from Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine, sparking criticism from Kyiv on Tuesday.
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha slammed Cairo on X, saying that “despite repeated warnings, the Asomatos vessel has been permitted to unload 26.9k tonnes of stolen Ukrainian wheat at Abu Qir.”
Sybiha said that four days ago, Ukraine’s prosecutor general formally requested legal assistance from Egypt’s ministry of justice regarding this illicit cargo, exported by the sanctioned “Agro-Frigat” via Russian-occupied Crimea, and provided all necessary data and legal grounds to seize the vessel and its cargo.
“Ukraine is a country that has played the role of a reliable food security guarantor for Egypt for many years — and we don’t understand why Egyptian partners pay us back by continuing to accept stolen Ukrainian grain,” the foreign minister stated.
Sybiha urged Egypt to “uphold international law and their own promises made to us, and the principles of our bilateral relations.”
Last month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he addressed the issue with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.
“President (El-Sisi) informed me that Egypt will no longer accept grain exported by Russia from our temporarily occupied territories and is, at the same time, interested in increasing imports of grain from Ukraine,” Zelenskyy posted on X on 3 April.
Yet, according to Kyiv, Egypt has continued to accept vessels since then.
“This is the fourth instance of Russiaʼs grain laundering in Egyptian ports since April,” Sybiha said.
Earlier in April, Israeli grain importer Zenziper postponed unloading the grain from the ship carrying stolen Ukrainian grain on behalf of Russia.
Same as the Asomatos, the bulk carrier Panormitis was Panama-flagged.
Israel and Ukraine were locked in a public diplomatic scandal over the grain shipment for days, with Kyiv accusing Israel of ignoring all official communications and Israel denying there was enough evidence provided.
Marine traffic monitoring data still shows that the Panormitis close to Israel’s coast, a week after the vessel was not given permission to dock in Haifa.
Ukraine’s foreign ministry confirmed earlier in April that it is tracking a few vessels going to different destinations, including Turkey, Egypt and Algeria.