The European Union (EU) said on Monday that it “fully supports the efforts of António Guterres” to guarantee the export of cereals from Ukraine, after the announcement, by Moscow, of the suspension of the Black Sea initiative, negotiated by the general secretary. from the ONU.
“The Black Sea agreement, reached under the auspices of the United Nations (UN) Secretary General, António Guterres, is very important especially for the most vulnerable countries because, together with the EU solidarity pathways, it helps to ensure that countries most in need have access to the cereals and fertilizers they need,” said the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, at the entrance to the summit between the 27 members of the European bloc and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), that this Monday started in Brussels.
For this reason, Michel stressed, “the EU fully supports all the efforts of António Guterres” to guarantee the continuity of this agreement.
Russia on Monday suspended the agreement on the export of grain through the Black Sea from Ukrainian ports, arguing that the commitments made in relation to the Russian side were not fulfilled.
“The grain deal is on hold,” Kremlin (Russian presidency) spokesman Dmitry Peskov said during his daily telephone press conference.
The current extension of the agreement, signed in the summer of 2022 in Istanbul by Ukraine and Russia under the mediation of the UN and Turkey, ended this Monday night. In addition to Ukrainian grain, the document also covered the export of Russian fertilizers and food products.
In the countdown to trying to renew the agreement, UN Secretary General António Guterres last week sent a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin with a proposal to facilitate Russian exports of food and Ukrainian fertilizers and grains.
Always in the same statements in the Belgian capital, Charles Michel said that the leaders meeting at the EU-CELAC summit must release “a joint communiqué that will give new impetus for the coming years, within the framework of common relations”, namely , the promotion of a high-level meeting every two years.
“The text must be ambitious,” he added, stressing that most CELAC countries condemn the Russian military aggression against Ukraine, launched on February 24, 2022.
The EU-CELAC meeting runs until Tuesday in Brussels, with the presence of more than 50 leaders from both blocs, including the Portuguese Prime Minister, António Costa.
Source: TSF
