Guterres urged to keep the grain agreement

The UN Secretary-General has written a letter to the Russian president urging the grain deal to be maintained. The Black Sea Grain Initiative, known as the Grain Deal, was signed by Turkey, the UN, Russia and Ukraine last July in Istanbul. The agreement provides for the resumption of grain deliveries from Ukrainian ports.

The implementation of the agreement was suspended due to the war between Ukraine and Russia. Since the implementation of the agreement, it has been extended several times. According to AAA news agency, UN Secretary General António Guterres, in a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin, making a proposal with the aim of coordinating to continue the implementation of the grain deal, stressed the need to preserve it.

At the same time, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said: "Guterres called it necessary to ensure full and unhindered access to world markets for Russian and Ukrainian food and fertilizers." "The cumulative implementation of these agreements contributes to a steady decline in world food prices, which are currently 23 percent below the level recorded in March 2022,” he added. Dujarric noted that Russia is considering Guterres’ proposal. deals. At the same time, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov recently said that Moscow sees no reason to extend the deal on grain exports through the Black Sea. According to him, grain exports from Ukraine have long been turned into a commercial project.