Inspections of ships carrying Ukrainian grain and other food exports have slowed to half their peak rate under a U.N.-brokered wartime agreement, creating backlogs in vessels meant to carry supplies to developing nations where people are going hungry, United Nations and Ukrainian officials say.
Some U.S. and Ukrainian officials accuse Russia of deliberately slowing down inspections, which a Russian official denied.As the grain initiative got rolling in August, only 4.1 inspections of ships -- both heading to and leaving Ukraine -- took place each day on average, according to data the Joint Coordination Center in Istanbul provided to The Associated Press. Inspection teams from Russia, Ukraine, the U.N.
More than 100 vessels are waiting in the waters off Turkey either for inspection or for their applications to participate to clear, with the waiting time of vessels between application and inspection averaging 21 days in the last two weeks, according to the U.N. "We've have been pushing to get more inspections. We've been pushing to make sure that the inspections proceed quickly and thoroughly," he said. "We're trying to do everything we can to move it faster."
But Power said the U.S. was "very concerned" that Moscow might be deliberately dragging its heels on inspections. "The Russian side adheres to the number of daily inspections in accordance to the reached agreements," he said by text message. The ministry accused Russia of "purposeful sabotage," saying that since October, the ports have been forced to work at half-capacity and inflows of ships have declined.
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