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A Lebanese port official confirmed that the ship continues to be in Tripoli and can solely sail if its will get clearance from the choose of pressing issues by Thursday.
The judicial officers stated the investigation into the ship, which docked within the port of Tripoli on Thursday and has been seized, confirmed it isn’t carrying stolen items. The investigation was performed by prosecutors and the intelligence arm of the Lebanese police, they stated.
The judicial officers stated a lawyer for the Ukrainian Embassy was headed to Tripoli on Tuesday with paperwork proving the ship is carrying stolen grain. They gave no additional particulars.
The port and judicial officers spoke on situation of anonymity as a result of they weren’t approved to speak to the media.
The controversy surrounding the ship has underscored how tiny Lebanon, which borders Syria, has gotten caught up in Russia’s months-long conflict in Ukraine.
The Laodicea is carrying 5,000 tons of flour and 5,000 tons of barley that Ukraine’s Embassy in Beirut says was illegally taken by Russia. After the embassy raised the alarm, Lebanese authorities initiated an investigation.
The Russian Embassy has advised Lebanese media that the Ukrainian declare was “baseless.”
The U.S. Treasury Division had sanctioned the Laodicea in 2015 for its affiliation with the Syrian authorities of President Bashar Assad, an ally of Russia.
Based on the Ukraine Embassy, the Laodicea is amongst scores of vessels that Kyiv alleges have transported grain stolen by Russia.
Russia’s conflict on Ukraine that began in late February had prevented grain from leaving the “breadbasket of the world.” Collectively, Russia and Ukraine export almost a 3rd of the world’s wheat and barley.
On Monday, the primary ship carrying Ukrainian grain set out from the port of Odesa heading to Lebanon beneath an internationally brokered deal to unblock the embattled nation’s agricultural exports and ease the rising international meals disaster.
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