Italy's foreign ministry on Monday hailed the first shipment of grain from a Ukrainian port since Russia's invasion and naval blockade five months ago, which has led to a world food and energy crisis.
"Italy welcomes the departure of the first shipment of grain from the port of Odesa," read a foreign ministry tweet.
"It is necessary to ensure that exports continue in line with existing commitments, in order to ease the global food crisis."
Under a safe passage deal brokered by Turkey and the United Nations, the Sierre Leone-flagged ship Razoni left the Black Sea port of Odessa bound for Lebanon's port of Tripoli with 26,527 tonnes of corn on board.
Ukraine and Russia are leading world grain suppliers and account for one third of global wheat exports.
