(Reuters) – Ukraine and Croatia have agreed on the possibility of using Croatian ports on the Danube and the Adriatic Sea for the export of Ukrainian grain, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said after talks with his Croatian counterpart on Monday.
Russia quit the U.N.-brokered Black Sea grain deal this month, depriving Ukraine, a global producer, of a vital conduit to safely export its agricultural products during the war.
“Now we will work to establish the most efficient routes to these ports and make the most of this opportunity,” Kuleba said after meeting Grlic Radman in Kyiv.
“Every contribution to unblocking export, every door opened is a real, effective contribution to the world’s food security,” he said.
Ukraine currently relies on land export routes via the European Union as well as an alternative route via the Danube River. Russia attacked infrastructure along the latter route earlier this month.
Kuleba said the main subject of his talks with his Croatian counterpart were weapons.
“I will only say that there are specific agreements that will be implemented soon,” he said without providing details.
(Reporting by Anna Pruchnicka and Kyiv newsroom; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Bill Berkrot)
