US announces “viable routes” for Ukrainian grain exports

The United States of America sees viable routes for Ukrainian grain exports through territorial waters and by land after Russia’s withdrawal from the grain deal. This was stated by James O’Brien, the head of the US Sanctions Coordination Office, Reuters reports.

According to the official, the United States is seeking to return to pre-war exports from Ukraine in the coming months.

“I think we see that there are viable routes through Ukraine’s territorial waters and overland, and we are committed… over the next few months to returning to pre-war levels of exports from Ukraine,” O’Brien said.

Ukraine, as a major global grain producer and exporter, used to ship millions of metric tons of food from its Black Sea ports of Odesa and Mykolaiv. However, it has had to rely on its ports on the Danube after Russia pulled out of the grain initiative last month.

As a reminder, the US is negotiating with Turkey, Ukraine and Kyiv’s neighbors on alternative export routes for Ukrainian grain exports.

Meanwhile, Ukraine has opened temporary corridors for merchant ships sailing to and from its ports. At the same time, our country is asking the European Commission to compensate for the costs of transporting agricultural products to European seaports.

Tags: USA, Black Sea grain corridor, Ukraine, export, grain