The only option to export Ukrainian grain is overland - representative of the US NSC

A representative of the US National Security Council called the land corridor the only option for exporting Ukrainian grain.

John Kirby said this at a press conference.

The representative of the National Security Council called this option a less efficient solution that will not allow exporting the same amount of grain as it was under the grain deal.

"But there’s no possible way, just mathematically, we’re going to get as much grain out now as we were going to be able to get out through the grain deal if it had been extended," Kirby said.

He added that prices for wheat, corn and soybeans have already started to rise on world markets.

"Russia’s decision to resume its effective blockade of Ukrainian ports and prevent this grain from getting to markets will harm people all over the world," the representative said.

He also said that the US is not considering providing military escorts for cargo ships for export by sea.

To recap, on July 17, Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced Russia's withdrawal "from the grain deal". President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote a letter to Turkish President Erdoğan and UN Secretary-General Guterres with a proposal to extend the agreement in a trilateral format.

Photo: UNIAN