Kazakhstan May Terminate Lease of Cargo Ship Detained in Turkey, Industry Minister Says
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NUR-SULTAN (Sputnik) - Kazakhstan may terminate the lease agreement for its Zhibek Zholy cargo ship, recently detained in Turkey over the suspicion that it was smuggling Ukrainian grain, if the investigation confirms that the ship's lessee has violated the law, Kazakh Industry Minister Kairbek Uskenbayev said on Tuesday.
The Russian-flagged cargo ship, reportedly transporting 7,000 tonnes of grain, was detained in Turkey last week. On Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the situation needs to be investigated further.
"The position of the Kazakh side is that we leased the ship. It is the responsibility of the one who rented the ship. When renting a vessel, of course, there are restrictions that the lessee should not engage in this or that. If the lessee engages in any activity that does not comply with Kazakh and international law, of course, this agreement will be terminated and the ship will be recalled," Uskenbayev told reporters.
He said Turkey is now expected to give its legal assessment of the situation before Kazakhstan can make any further action.
"The Turkish side, if concerned with this issue, will find out the origin of the cargo — who is the charterer, who sent this cargo, and things will clear up what sort of restrictions due to sanctions applied. They [Turkey] will do assessments right away, and then it will be clear whether there are legal consequences [and grounds] for the termination of the contract and the return of the ship," Uskenbayev said.
Uskenbayev noted that the national railway company of Kazakhstan, Temir Zholy (KTZ), has already informed the public that its ship Zhibek Zholy was leased to a Russian company that was not under sanctions. According to KTZ's statement, the Kazakh Prosecutor General's Office is also investigating this case.
© Sputnik
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