NEW YORK (dpa-AFX) – UN Secretary-General António Guterres has expressed “disappointment” with the current state of implementation of the grain agreement between Russia and Ukraine. Among other things, the ships are now being inspected more slowly, so that overall fewer ships reach and leave Ukrainian ports and therefore less grain arrives at the recipients, Guterres said, according to a spokesman in New York on Tuesday.
Overall, the food exports made possible by the agreement fell by around three quarters in May compared to last October. The UN Secretary-General called on all parties involved to accelerate implementation and ensure further implementation of the agreement.
The grain deal between Russia and Ukraine, brokered by the UN and Turkey last summer, ended Moscow’s naval blockade of Ukrainian ports several months after Russia’s war of aggression began. In return, Russia demanded the easing of Western sanctions that hampered Russian agar and fertilizer exports. Since then, Moscow has repeatedly complained that this demand has not been implemented – and has already threatened not to extend the agreement again.
The agreement has already been extended several times, but most recently by only two months each time. The current extension is valid until around mid-July./cah/DP/nas