A spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, Stephane Dujarric, stressed the need to quickly remove “barriers” to Russian exports.
Dujarric said, in a statement, that the initial term of the agreement on Ukrainian exports “is 120 days and can be automatically extended on November 19 if no party objects.”
“We call on all parties to make every effort to renew the Black Sea Initiative and fully implement both agreements, including the explicit removal of any remaining obstacles to Russian grain and fertilizer exports,” he added.
“We do not underestimate the challenges, but we know that they can be overcome,” a Guterres spokesman added.
They stressed that “governments, shipping companies, grain and fertilizer traders, and farmers all over the world need to clarify” matters.
“We stress the urgent need to do this to contribute to food security around the world and alleviate the suffering that the cost of living crisis is causing for billions of people in the world,” Dujarric said.
It is noteworthy that the Black Sea Agreement, signed on July 22 under the auspices of the United Nations, set measures for a period of 120 days to allow the export of Ukrainian grain after it was suspended due to the war. Doubts about the extension of the agreement led to an increase in the prices of some products.
A second agreement signed on July 22 provides for facilitating Russian exports, but Moscow complains of its inability to sell its production and fertilizers due to Western sanctions that affect especially the financial and logistical sectors.
And US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced Thursday that Russia would face “extreme anger” if it reneged on the agreement to export grain from Ukraine.
For his part, the head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Martin Griffiths, said Wednesday that he was relatively optimistic that the grain deal would be extended.
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