UN head pushes Russia to restart food agreement with Ukraine
fears 'the most vulnerable' would suffer
The Secretary-General of the United Nations has issued a plea to Russia to resurrect the grain deal with Ukraine, warning that “the most vulnerable” will suffer as a result. Guterres stated that as a result of the recent failure of the grain deal between Ukraine and Russia, “those who are most vulnerable will pay the highest price.”
ROME: On Monday, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres asked Russia to continue the internationally mediated agreement so that grain could be exported from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports, warning that failure to do so would have disastrous effects on the world’s most vulnerable hungry people.
The U.N. leader made the appeal in a speech at the start of a three-day summit on food systems in Rome.
“The most vulnerable will pay the highest price,” Guterres stated in reference to the recent failure of the grain deal between Russia and Ukraine. Despite without providing any numbers, he regretted that there are already adverse consequences on the price of wheat and maize around the world.
The U.N. chief declared that both Russia and Ukraine are “essential to global food security.” He pointed out that historically, they have provided 30% of the world’s exports of wheat and barley, a fifth of all maize, and more than half of all sunflower oil.
According to the U.N. leader, “For my part, I remain dedicated to allowing unhindered access to global markets for food products and fertiliser from both Ukraine and the Russian Federation, as well as to deliver the food security every human deserves.
In his keynote address at the summit, Guterres urged the international community to come together to find solutions to the problem, saying, “I call on the Russian Federation to return to implementation of the Black Sea Initiative, in line with my latest proposal.”
The agreement fell apart earlier this month as a result of Russia’s refusal to renew it. It was stated that the Black Sea Initiative would be put on hold until conditions were satisfied for Russian food and fertiliser exports to the rest of the world.
The U.N. and Turkey had mediated the agreement in order to maintain the flow of grain to underdeveloped nations, particularly those in Africa and the Middle East, despite the war Moscow had started against Ukraine in February 2022.
The U.N. World Food Programme was able to reestablish a primary supplier once the grain agreement was reached, allowing 725,000 metric tonnes of humanitarian food aid to leave the Ukraine and go to nations on the verge of famine, such as Ethiopia, Afghanistan, and Yemen.
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