Agencies-Gaza post
Washington unveils alternative plan to move Ukrainian grain from Odessa port
A senior US official revealed that the US worked with Ukraine on a “plan B” (alternative plan), to get grain exports out of the country, after the Russian attack on the port of Odessa.
Russia and Ukraine marked an agreement last Friday allowing the export of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea, after months of difficult negotiations mediated by Turkey and the United Nations. However, just a day later, Russia launched a missile attack on the southern Ukrainian port of Odessa, where stocks of grain are stocked.
Samantha Power, Director of USAID, told CNN News that the alternative plan included road, rail, and river roads, and the modification of rail systems to better align with those in Europe so that exports could move faster.
“We have been preparing the contingency plan because there is no way you can trust anything that (Russian President) Vladimir Putin says.” Despite the contingency plan, “there is no alternative to Putin ending the blockade and taking out the grain in the most effective way.”
Bauer called on States to work further to prevent the food crisis from becoming a disaster.”
