Ukraine to summon Turkey's ambassador over ship carrying 'stolen grain'

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Ukraine will summon Turkey's ambassador in Kyiv over "stolen grain" claims, a spokesperson for the country's Foreign Ministry said today (July 7).

"We regret that Russia's ship Zhibek Zholy which was full of stolen Ukrainian grain, was allowed to leave Karasu port despite criminal evidence presented to the Turkish authorities," Oleg Nikolenko wrote on Twitter.

The ambassador will be invited to the Foreign Ministry "to clarify this unacceptable situation," he added.

Loaded with grain, the ship "Zhibek Zholy" left Berdyansk, which is currently under Russia's control, on June 29, and anchored off the coast of Karasu Port, Sakarya, in Turkey's inland Sea of Marmara, on July 1, three days after reportedly turning down its GPS transmitter.

Officials from Ukraine told their counterparts from Turkey that the ship contained "stolen grains" and asked Ankara to seize the ship.

Some 4,000 tons of grains were reportedly loaded in the 140 meters long and 17 meters wide ship.

The ship remained off the Karasu port until today. Early in the morning, it set off for the Black Sea, shutting off its transmitter once again, daily Evrensel reported.

İlnur Çevik, an advisor to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, told the BBC Turkish service that if the grain was proven to be stolen, Turkey would seize and sell it in the name of Ukraine.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, "The ship seems Russian and has a Russian flag," mentioning a delivery plan according to an agreement signed between Turkey and Estonia.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu also discussed the issue with his counterpart in Ukraine, Dmitro Kuleba, in a phone call today. (SD/VK)