”Take the ships away and provide guarantees.” The Foreign Ministry responded to Russiaʼs proposals to unblock ports if Ukraine “demines the sea”

The Foreign Ministry responded to statements by Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov that Russia is ready to unblock Ukrainian ports if Ukraine exchanges the Black Sea. The Foreign Ministry stressed that Russia must first withdraw its ships and guarantee that it will not attack.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleh Nikolenko wrote about this on his Facebook page.

"Ukraine is working with partners to establish an international mission, in particular under the auspices of the United Nations, which will take over the operation of maritime routes for the export of Ukrainian agricultural products. We welcome the previous readiness of a number of countries to join the process of restoring security in the Black Sea. As a first step, Russia should withdraw its forces in the maritime waters around Ukraine and provide security guarantees against attacks on ports and commercial convoys," he said.

Nikolenko also reminded that Russia had besieged Ukrainian ports, mined part of the sea and was constantly trying to break into Ukrainian waters — Russia created a risk of the global food crisis and also steals grain in the occupied territories.