The head of humanitarian aid at the United Nations (UN) said on Monday (15) that he will continue in the coming days with efforts to extend the agreement that allows the safe export of grains from Ukraine through the Black Sea, a pact from which Russia threatened to withdraw on May 18 due to obstacles to its grain and fertilizer exports.
The last two ships under the Black Sea deal are due to leave Ukrainian ports on Tuesday, a UN spokesman said.
“The continuation of the Black Sea Initiative is critically important,” Martin Griffiths told a UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine.
“We will continue to appeal to everyone to meet their responsibilities as the world watches us closely.”
The UN and Turkey brokered the Black Sea deal in July last year to help tackle a global food crisis made worse by Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, a top grain exporter. At the same time, the UN agreed to help Moscow facilitate its own shipments of agricultural products.
Griffiths met in Istanbul last week with officials from Russia, Ukraine and Turkey, but there was no agreement from Russia to extend the Black Sea deal.
“These efforts will continue and focus in the coming days,” Griffiths said on Monday.
A Ukrainian Foreign Ministry official said, also on Monday, that no further talks were planned for this week.
Russia has issued a list of requirements regarding its own agricultural exports that it wants to see met before agreeing to an extension of the deal.
(Additional reporting by Pavel Polityuk)
Source: CNN Brasil
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