NATO and Ukraine To Discuss Black Sea Maritime Corridor

July 24, 2023, 2022 (EIRNS)—Following the collapse of the Black Sea Grain Initiative on July 17, Ukraine and NATO actors are moving to escalate dangerous new tensions in the region. In a phone conversation with NATO Secretary Jens Stoltenberg yesterday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “requested” a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council this week, to discuss security in the Black Sea, particularly the operation of a corridor for grain exports. NATO spokesperson Oanu Lungescu said the NATO-Ukraine Council would discuss the situation following Russia’s withdrawal from the year-old deal overseeing grain exports from Ukrainian ports, reported Reuters. Lungescu said the two men discussed Russia’s pullout from the deal and its “continued attempts to weaponize food, which are affecting millions of vulnerable people around the world.”

“I proposed to Jens that the council be convened without delay for relevant crisis consultations,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address. “The meeting will take place in the coming days. We can overcome the security crisis in the Black Sea.”