Macron proposed UN vote to Putin to lift Odesa port blockade

By Shweta Desai

PARIS (AA) - French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday that he proposed his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to take the issue of lifting the blockade of the port of Odessa to the UN, in order to allow the export of Ukrainian cereals stuck there.

Speaking to the press following an EU summit in Brussels, which adopted the sixth European package of sanctions against Russia, Macron said he hoped for an agreement in the coming weeks with Moscow to allow exports of foodgrains from Ukraine.

He recalled that in the last call conducted jointly with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, he suggested to Putin the “initiative of a vote on the resolution at the UN to give a very clear framework to this operation."

The EU and the African Union are concerned about the serious ramifications of the war on food security.

Several African countries dependent on foodgrains from Russia and Ukraine have urged the EU to undertake every possible measure to unblock the grain stocks and transport them to the countries in need. About 20 million tons of cereals are stuck in the port of Odesa near the Black Sea, which is currently under a Russian blockade.

Macron said Ukraine would need a security guarantee from Russia to allow ships and bulk carriers to transport the cereals out of Odesa safely without being attacked. He added that a UN framework and Türkiye will have an important role to carry out this operation in the Black Sea.

He underlined that Putin and Turkish President Recep Erdogan had produced "positive conclusions" following recent talks on the matter.