A ship carrying grain that Ukraine claims was illegally obtained from Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories will not be unloaded in Israel. This is reported by Israeli media, quoted by Reuters, reports News.bg.
According to publications in the local press, citing the Association of Grain Importers in Israel, the company that organized the delivery was forced to return the vessel after insistence from the Ukrainian side.
The specified importer - the company Zenziper - has not yet given an official comment on the case.
In recent days, diplomatic signals have been exchanged between Kiev and Tel Aviv, after Ukraine strongly objected to the purchase of grain produced in Ukrainian regions that are currently under Russian control.
The Ukrainian authorities consider it “stolen“ all the grain produced in the five occupied regions, including Crimea, and have been protesting for years against its export to third countries through Russian companies.
Moscow, for its part, considers these territories to be part of the Russian Federation, although the international community continues to recognize them as Ukrainian.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry said that so far Kiev has not provided sufficient evidence that the specific cargo was illegally appropriated. However, the ship will not be accepted and will be returned.