UN is “fully committed” to “removing obstacles” to Russia’s food and fertilizer exports
The governments of Russia and Ukraine on Thursday agreed to extend the agreement signed in July for the export of grain from Ukrainian ports, as confirmed by the United Nations shortly after Kiev announced that the parties had agreed to extend its validity for a period of time. extension of 120 days.
“I welcome the agreement between all parties to maintain the Black Sea Grain Initiative to facilitate the safe navigation of grain, food and fertilizer exports from Ukraine,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statement released on Friday. published on the Agency’s website. .
For example, he emphasized that “the United Nations is fully committed to supporting the Joint Coordination Center to ensure that this vital supply line operates smoothly,” before adding that the organization will work to “remove remaining obstacles to the export of food and fertilizers.” . Russia”.
“Both agreements signed in Istanbul three months ago are essential to lower food and fertilizer prices and avoid a global food crisis,” Guterres stressed. who added that “the initiative demonstrates the importance of discreet diplomacy and finding multilateral solutions.”
Minutes earlier, Ukraine’s Infrastructure Minister Oleksander Kubrakov had announced a 120-day extension to the agreement. “The decision has just been taken in Istanbul” and specified that “the United Nations and Turkey remain guarantors of the initiative.” Negotiations had recently intensified due to the expiration of the current agreement next Saturday.
In this sense, Kubrakov revealed that Kiev had called for an extension of the initiative “for at least a year” and including the port of Mikolaiv, while emphasizing that Ukraine is “waiting for a response”, without Russia’s government so far made a statement. the announcements.
Kubrakov has defended that “Ukrainian agricultural exports remain an effective tool to deal with the global food crisis” and stressed that more than eleven million tons of products have been transported to 38 countries of the world since the entry into force of the agreement.
“It is a significant amount, but it is not enough. The world market cannot replace Ukrainian agricultural products in the short term. At the same time, it is impossible to increase our food for the world,” explains the Ukrainian minister.
“It is also important to ensure the effective functioning of the Joint Coordination Center. We have made proposals to solve existing problems. We must exploit the full export potential of our ports so that the world can quickly get the amounts of food it needs” , he decides.
Russia and Ukraine signed an agreement brokered by Turkey and the United Nations on July 22 to unblock grain and fertilizer exports, an agreement that was briefly interrupted by Moscow’s allegations against Kiev over alleged threats to the security of the corridor. Finally, Moscow announced a return to the agreement after citing Ukrainian “guarantees”, though Kiev denied making any concessions.
Source: La Verdad
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