BEIRUT: An official at a Turkey-based grains trading company denied on Friday that barley and flour aboard a ship docked in a Lebanese port had been stolen from Ukraine, saying the source of the flour was Russia.

The official at Loyal Agro Co LTD, who declined to be identified, told Reuters that the company had sought to import 5,000 tonnes of the flour on the ship to Lebanon to sell to private buyers, not to the Lebanese government.

Reuters could not immediately reach Lebanese government officials for comment.

The Ukrainian embassy in Lebanon told Reuters that a US-sanctioned Syrian ship had docked in the northern Lebanese port of Tripoli “carrying 5,000 tonnes of barley and 5,000 tonnes of flour that we suspect was taken from Ukrainian stores.”

The Russian embassy said it had “no information regarding the Syrian vessel or a cargo brought to Lebanon by a private company.”

Russia has previously denied Ukrainian allegations that it has stolen Ukrainian grain.