The United Nations Secretary-General said on Wednesday that a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine is far from being reached. António Guterres’ conclusion comes after the telephone conversation he had with the Russian president today. “We are far from the end of the war,” said the Portuguese after the conversation with Vladimir Putin.
“A ceasefire is not in sight. I would be lying if I said this is going to happen,” the UN Secretary-General said.
Guterres also said he has discussed the grain export agreement with the Russian president after warning about barriers to the export of Russian food and fertilizers. “The risk is that there will be a shortage of food in the world later this year.”
According to the Kremlin, Putin told the top United Nations official that the “priority” should be to send Ukrainian grain to the countries most in need.
During the conversation, the Russian presidency said: “the main focus was on the implementation of the Istanbul agreements on the export of Ukrainian grain”. “Both stressed the importance of responding as a priority to the needs of those in the African continent, the Middle East and Latin America, who need food,” the Kremlin statement read.
with AFP
(Updated)
Source: DN
