UN Secretary GeneralAntonio Guterres, affirmed this Wednesday in kyiv (Ukraine) that it is “crucial” to extend the agreement on Ukrainian cereal exports reached with Russia, a vital pact for the global food supply expiring on March 18.
(You can read: Women’s Day, live: the streets of the world are filled with the ‘purple tide’)
“I would like to underline the crucial importance of extending (the grain agreement) on March 18 and creating the conditions to make the best possible use of the export infrastructure,” Guterres said, according to the EFE news agency.
The UN chief added that the agreement has allowed the export of 23 million tons of Ukrainian cereals, which were until then blocked in the ports due to the Russian invasion.
“It has contributed to lowering the global cost of food and has provided crucial help to populations who are also paying a high price for this war, particularly in developing countries,” Guterres stressed.
The UN leader recalled that Ukrainian, but also Russian, cereals and fertilizers are “essential for world food security and food prices”, in a context of widespread inflation in many countries.
Ukraine on Tuesday called for international efforts to keep open the Black Sea shipping lanes used to transport its grain.
(We recommend: USA: why does Biden want to jail migrant families again?)
For his part, the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, asked at the beginning of last March that Russia renew the agreement. Russia, for its part, assures that the part of this agreement that should allow it to export fertilizers without Western sanctions is not fulfilled.
As reported by Infobae, today is the third visit that Guterres has made to Ukraine since Russia launched its military offensive a little over a year ago.
He added that Ukrainian sources said on Tuesday that “negotiations to extend the pact have already started, albeit not directly with Russia. Ukraine has previously expressed its desire for the agreement to be extended.” for at least one year to guarantee stability to exporters and importers and achieve the inclusion of the port of the city of Mikolaiv, in the south of the country”.
More news
Writing LATEST NEWS
*With information from EFE
#crucial #SecretaryGeneral #grain #export #deal