The Ukrainian president announced on Saturday that he had a telephone conversation with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg about “future steps” to unlock the Black Sea corridor for grain exports.
“We identified with Mr. Stoltenberg the priority and the necessary future steps for the unlocking and sustainable operation of the Black Sea grain corridor,” Volodymir Zelensky said on the social network Twitter.
According to the President of Ukraine, the telephone conversation also served to assess “the current situation in the Black Sea and the risks it poses to world food security”, as well as to discuss “actions related to Ukraine’s integration into NATO”.
On Monday, Russia announced that it would suspend 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.
Several countries and international organizations, including the United Nations and the European Union (EU), condemned Moscow’s decision, lamenting the Russian withdrawal from the expansion of the Black Sea Grain Initiative and warning of the serious consequences for countries with difficulties accessing food.
The Black Sea Grain Initiative, agreed a year ago by Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations, allowed the export of almost 33 million tons of food from three ports in southern Ukraine, considered crucial to lower global prices and food security in the most vulnerable countries.
The Russian authorities have announced that they will only return to the protocol if its conditions are met, namely trade in their own agricultural products, which is hampered, they stress, by Western sanctions.
The Russian military offensive on Ukrainian territory, launched on February 24 last year, plunged Europe into what is considered the most serious security crisis since World War II (1939-1945).
Source: TSF
