Cabinet of Ministers Publishes Directives under Which Ukraine Negotiated Grain Export in Istanbul

The government has published the directives that the Ukrainian delegation used as their guide in Istanbul during the multilateral negotiations on the preparation and approval of a draft initiative on the safe transportation of grain and food products from Ukrainian ports.

The Ukrainian delegation was instructed to be guided by the Constitution and laws of Ukraine and to ensure the protection of Ukraine’s national interests, using the negotiation process to strengthen Ukraine’s international authority and ensure the safety of navigation in the Black Sea. The Ukrainian delegation also had to prevent, exclude and block possible steps by the Russian side or any other party that aimed to legitimise the decision to recognise certain [temporarily occupied] areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts of Ukraine, as well as the attempt to annex Crimea and Sevastopol.

The Ukrainian side had to bear in mind that the UN General Assembly has confirmed its commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity, and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders and territorial waters, and also to emphasise that the Russian Federation’s ongoing aggression against Ukraine is a violation of the UN Charter, and its invasion of the sovereign territory of Ukraine with the use of force against Ukraine and subsequent threats is nothing less than a war against our state.

In addition, the Ukrainian delegation was instructed to use the following phrases in official documents, messages, publications, information materials, and reports within the framework of the negotiations, including relevant statistics related to or provided by the Russian Federation, or posted and used on official UN internet resources and internet platforms:

- the words "war" and "invasion" when referring to the ongoing armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine and further threats to our state, in accordance with the statements and position of the UN Secretary-General;

- the wording "Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, Ukraine, temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation" when referring to the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol;

- the phrase "temporarily occupied territories in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions" when referring to certain temporarily occupied areas of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts;

- the phrase "occupying authorities of the Russian Federation" when referring to the structures of the Russian Federation and their representatives in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol;

- the phrase "Russian occupation administration" when referring to structures of the Russian Federation and their representatives in certain temporarily occupied areas of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts.

More information about the grain agreements signed in Istanbul can be found in this new video by EuroPravda, and this article: Istanbul as "Minsk": what Russia will get from the West in and around the "grain agreement".