The UN secretary-general said on Thursday that the organization was “deeply committed to the resumption of the Black Sea Initiative,” which enabled the export of grains from Ukraine, but that “mutual guarantees” were needed.
“Contrary to what has been said recently, we remain actively involved, especially in aspects such as the access of the Russian Federation to the financial markets and other aspects to facilitate its exports”said Antonio Guterres
“We are making efforts to restore an environment where mutual assurances can be given for the resolution of the problem”he said at a press conference in Jakarta.
“The difficulties we face in winning the goodwill of other partners around the world are dramatically magnified when the Russian Federation bombs ports and grain depots, as this casts doubt on whether or not Russia is willing to enter the Black Sea to take back the initiative. that provokes some resistance in other countries”he claimed.
Guterres defended the positive impact of the grain transport deal through the Black Sea, as most of Ukraine’s exports went to developing countries and prices have fallen globally.
“Most of Ukraine’s exports went to developing countries, although a significant share went to developed countries”said the Portuguese, when asked by Lusa about the Russian accusations about this agreement.
Moscow unilaterally abandoned the protocol in July after President Vladimir Putin said so “of the 32.8 million tons exported from Ukraine, more than 70% ended up in rich countries, especially in the European Union”with countries most in need receiving only 3% of the grain leaving through Ukrainian ports, i.e. “less than a million tons”.
“We have to recognize that when a large amount of grains are introduced to the world market, it brings prices down and when prices fall, everyone benefits. If this is stopped, prices go up and when they rise, everyone suffers underneath.”emphasized the UN Secretary-General.
Guterres was speaking at a press conference in Jakarta ahead of the opening of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)–United Nations Summit, one of the meetings to coincide with the 43rd. ASEAN Summit in Jakarta.
Earlier this week, Putin refused to sign a new agreement to move grain across the Black Sea until the West complied with Moscow’s demands.
Putin accused the West at a press conference of continuing to block “Russian demands” over the deal. “They are refusing to lift export sanctions on our grains and fertilizers, and to resume delivery of farm machinery and spare parts”he explained after talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in southern Russia.
Along with the UN, Erdogan was one of the brokers of the original agreement, known as the Black Sea Initiative and signed in Istanbul in the summer of 2022, allowing Ukraine to safely export its grain production.
When it suspended its participation in the agreement, Moscow admitted it would return to an agreement if it could reintegrate its agricultural bank, Rosselkhozbank, into the SWIFT international banking system, lift sanctions on agricultural machinery spare parts, unblock the logistics of transportation and insurance and asset defrosting.
The Russian side also demanded the resumption of operation of the Togliatti-Odessa pipeline, intended for the export of ammonia, an essential component of fertilizers.
Ukraine and Russia are among the world’s largest grain producers and global supply was seriously affected by the war between the two countries in February last year, affecting food security in the most vulnerable countries and escalating commodity prices.
Since the end of the deal, Russia has heavily bombed southern Ukraine’s ports and grain silos, while Kiev has been looking for alternative export routes.
In the margins of the summit, Guterres will hold another short meeting this Thursday with Xanana Gusmão, Prime Minister of East Timor, who has observer status with ASEAN.
Source: DN
