UN Secretary General António Guterres urged Russia on Monday to return to the agreement on the export of grains through the Black Sea, arguing that the protocol is “fundamental to guarantee stability in supplies and prices”.
“I ask the Russian Federation to resume the application of the Black Sea agreements and I urge the international community to remain united in this effort to find effective solutions,” said Guterres, at the opening in Rome of the United Nations Summit on Food Systems, a meeting co-organized by the Italian government.
The Italian capital, home to several UN agencies focused on the food sector (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations – FAO, International Fund for Agricultural Development – IFAD and the World Food Program – WFP), is hosting this week the meeting to take stock of the agreements reached two years ago in New York during a conference on food systems.
Last Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin assured that Russia is prepared to return to the agreement on the export of Ukrainian cereals – which it suspended on July 17, considering that its shipments of agricultural products and fertilizers are blocked by Western sanctions – if its demands are “fully” met, and without which the extension of the pact “no longer makes sense”.
Russia’s demands include the reintegration of its agricultural bank, Rosselkhozbank, into the SWIFT international banking system, the lifting of sanctions on spare parts for agricultural machinery, the unblocking of transport logistics and insurance, and the unfreezing of assets.
The Russian authorities also intend to reopen the Togliatti-Odessa pipeline, intended for the export of ammonia, a crucial component for Russian fertilizers. This structure, out of service since the beginning of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, was damaged by an explosion on June 5, an action that Moscow blamed on kyiv.
Signed in the summer of 2022 in Istanbul by Ukraine and Russia, under the mediation of the UN and Turkey, the agreement covers Ukrainian cereals and the export of Russian fertilizers and food products.
According to United Nations data, since the entry into force of the agreement, about 33 million tons of cereals have been shipped from the ports of southern Ukraine.
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
