NEW YORK, US
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said on Thursday that he had sent Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov “a set of concrete proposals” aimed at reviving a deal that allowed the safe export of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea.
Russia quit the deal in July –
a year after it was brokered by the United Nations and Turkey – complaining
that its own food and fertilizer exports faced obstacles and that not enough
Ukrainian grain was going to countries in need.
Guterres’ letter comes ahead
of a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish
counterpart Tayyip Erdogan. Two Turkish sources told Reuters the pair will meet
on Monday and primarily discuss Black Sea grain exports.
The Black Sea grain deal was
intended to combat a global food crisis that the United Nations said had been
worsened by Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Russia and Ukraine are
both leading grain exporters.
“I believe we presented a
proposal that could be the basis for a renewal, but a renewal that must be
stable,” Guterres told reporters, without elaborating on details of the
proposal.
“We cannot have a Black Sea initiative that moves from crisis to crisis, from suspension to suspension. We need to have something that works and that works to the benefit of everyone,” he said.
United Nations Secretary General António Guterres |
Lavrov said earlier on
Thursday, after meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Moscow,
that Russia sees no sign that it will receive the guarantees that will allow it
to resume the Black Sea grain deal.
Russia has said that if
demands to improve its own exports of grain and fertilizer were met, it would
consider resurrecting the Black Sea agreement. One of Moscow’s main demands is
for the Russian Agricultural Bank to be reconnected to the SWIFT international
payments system. The EU cut it off in June 2022.
While Russian exports of food
and fertilizer are not subject to Western sanctions imposed after Russia’s
invasion of Ukraine, Moscow has said restrictions on payments, logistics and
insurance have hindered shipments.
“We have some concrete
solutions … allowing for more effective access of Russian food and fertilizers
to global markets at adequate prices,” Guterres said. “I believe that, working
seriously, we can have a positive solution for everybody.” - Reuters
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