Russia’s decision to suspend the agreement on the export of agricultural products in the Black Sea port has been met with deep regret from the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres. Speaking at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on July 17th, Guterres expressed his disappointment and stated that the UN will continue to work on finding solutions to this issue.
Guterres highlighted that Russia’s decision to suspend the agreement means that the country has withdrawn its guarantee for the safety of navigation in the northwest of the Black Sea. The agreement, which ensured the safe passage of over 32 million tons of agricultural products shipped from Ukrainian ports, played a vital role in supporting humanitarian operations to alleviate hunger in Afghanistan, the Horn of Africa, and beyond, conducted by the World Food Program.
In addition to this suspension, Russia also halted a memorandum of understanding signed with the United Nations on the export of Russian grain, sunflower oil, and chemical fertilizers. These measures were in place to promote the unimpeded export of these goods from the Black Sea ports controlled by Ukraine.
Guterres stressed that the black sea port export agreement of agricultural products and the memorandum of understanding for the export of Russian grain and fertilizer are crucial for global food security. Since March of last year, these agreements have helped reduce food prices by more than 23% at a time when food production and supplies are severely affected by conflict, climate change, and energy prices.
While acknowledging that Russian grain and fertilizer exports still face obstacles, Guterres has sent a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin proposing new proposals to address these issues. The Secretary-General emphasized in the letter that the United Nations has worked to ensure that countries can import food and fertilizer from Russia despite sanctions. This included issuing key general licenses by the United States and the United Kingdom, unfreezing the assets of the main fertilizer group, and establishing a custom payment mechanism for the Russian Agricultural Bank. Unfortunately, Guterres expressed his disappointment that his advice was not heeded.
Despite this setback, Guterres affirmed that Russia’s decision would not deter the UN’s efforts to promote unhindered access to global markets for Ukrainian and Russian food and fertilizers. The United Nations will continue to work towards finding a solution to this issue.
The agreement on the export of agricultural products at Black Sea ports was initially signed on July 22nd of last year, with Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, and the United Nations jointly involved. The agreement, which was valid for 120 days, was extended for an additional 120 days in November. However, when discussing the renewal of the agreement in March of this year, the Russian side emphasized that their grain and fertilizer exports were still blocked and only agreed to an extension of 60 days. The agreement expired on July 17th.
The impact of Russia’s decision is expected to have a negative effect on those in need around the world. However, the United Nations remains committed to its mission of promoting accessibility to global markets for food and fertilizers from Ukraine and Russia. Efforts will continue to find a solution to this matter.
(Source: China News Agency/Editor: Luo Yu)