Israel proposes new system to prevent sales of Ukrainian grain stolen by Russia
Illustrative photo: Israel and Ukraine may sign memorandum on grain trade (Getty Images)
Ukraine and Israel may sign a memorandum aimed at preventing the import of grain stolen from temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories, according to an RBC-Ukraine diplomatic source.
The source said that the initiative to sign the memorandum came from the Israeli Association of Agricultural Product Importers.
The proposed mechanism would involve the Ukrainian side verifying grain shipments arriving in Israel to determine whether the cargo originated from Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia.
Scandal over stolen grain
On April 16, it became known that the vessel ABINSK entered the port of Haifa carrying stolen Ukrainian grain. Russia had transported the grain from the temporarily occupied territories.
Ukraine had warned Israel in advance about the origin of the grain, but the vessel was still allowed to unload, and no action was taken by Israeli authorities.
Eleven days later, a second ship carrying stolen Ukrainian grain arrived at the port of Haifa. Israel again ignored Ukraine’s requests to arrest both the cargo and the vessel.
For its part, Israel’s Foreign Ministry stated that Ukraine’s request for legal assistance lacked sufficient facts and supporting evidence.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar disliked the fact that Ukrainian officials publicly appealed to Israel over the stolen grain issue.
