Grain ship inspections on hold since last week

Ship inspections conducted in Istanbul under the Black Sea Grain Initiative have been on hold for two days, spokesman for the UN secretary general Stephane Dujarric said.

"I was on the phone with our colleagues in Istanbul just before coming here. We've been reporting very transparently on what is happening. No inspections yesterday. No inspections today," Dujarric said.

"There are intense discussions going on [at the JCC] with the Ukrainian representation, with the Russian representation, with a very helpful assistance and participation of Turkey," he said, citing the lack of consent between the sides as the reason.

"But, that only kind of redoubles our determination to ensure the full implementation of the deal," Dujarric said.