Russia loses vote to be reelected to UN International Maritime Organization
Russia has not been not reelected to the council of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), a United Nations specialized agency responsible for regulating shipping, the Kyiv Independent reports.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the organization's decision, thanking IMO members "for taking this crucial step."
"In the past decade, no country has done more to undermine freedom of navigation than Russia," Zelenskyy said.
The Assembly of the International Maritime Organization has just elected a new IMO Council for 2024-2025. Russia was not elected.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) December 1, 2023
I welcome this just decision. In the last decade, no country has done more to undermine freedom of navigation than Russia.
I am grateful to IMO…
The IMO's Assembly on Friday voted on its 40 new council members for 2024-2025.
Russia applied under the category "states with the largest interest in providing international shipping services," a post which it had held for the past two years but failed to be reelected.
New council members elected to the same category are China, Greece, Italy, Japan, Liberia, Norway, Panama, South Korea, the U.K. and the U.S., according to the IMO.
In July, Russia unilaterally pulled out of the Turkey and UN-brokered Black - Sea Grain Initiative, and subsequently intensified its attacks against Ukraine's ports and agriculture infrastructure.
Ukraine launched a new Black Sea corridor in August and has reportedly managed to export almost four million metric tons of food and goods through this temporary route, the Kyiv Independent reports.
The IMO is based in London, England, a prime location for international maritime arbitration, arbitrage and mediation.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte
Source: Kyiv Independent
