United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday called for the extension of a deal with Russia that allows Ukrainian grain exports to pass through the blockaded Black Sea.
“Today, we are interested in ensuring that there is no hunger in the world. And our common policy is to continue the operation of the ‘grain corridor,’” Zelenskyy said, after talks in Kyiv.
The deal, which was initially brokered by the United Nations and Turkey last July and extended in November, comes up for renewal again on March 18.
“I want to underscore the critical importance of the rollover of the Black Sea Grain Initiative on 18 March and of working to create the conditions to enable the greatest possible use of export infrastructures through the Black Sea, in line with the objectives of the initiative,” said Guterres.
Some 23 million tons of Ukrainian produce have been transported under the initiative so far, amid Russian President Vladimir Putin’s all-out war on Ukraine.
Guterres stressed the deal’s importance for bringing down global food prices and tackling food insecurity.
“Exports of Ukrainian — as well as Russian — food and fertilizers are essential to global food security and food prices,” he said.
Since Western sanctions were first targeted against Russia in February 2022, exemptions have been carved out for food and fertilizers. The Kremlin argues, however, that “hidden” sanctions targeting fertilizer oligarchs and Russia’s main agricultural bank have throttled its own fertilizer and food exports.
Last time the deal was renewed, in November, Russia threatened to pull out unless these sanctions were dropped but eventually agreed to an extension.
Now, Moscow wants to have its own agriculture exports and fertilizers included in the grain agreement as a condition for its renewal.
Meanwhile, Ukraine is pushing to pick up the pace of exports by extending the deal to cover more ports, including Mykolaiv.
Russia claims that most Ukrainian cargoes setting sail under the deal have headed to Europe and other rich countries; not to those in Africa and Asia bearing the brunt of the global food crisis.
According to U.N. tracking data, China, Spain and Turkey have received the biggest share of grain shipments under the deal — but some wheat delivered to Turkey is processed there and re-exported to countries such as Iraq and Sudan, or sold to the U.N.’s World Food Programme and distributed as food aid.
Ukraine and its allies also accuse Russia of deliberately holding up inspections of ships heading to and from its Black Sea ports — and thereby curtailing exports and driving up prices.
Ukraine and Russia produce a massive chunk of the world’s grain and fertilizer, together supplying some 28 percent of globally traded wheat and 75 percent of sunflower oil during peacetime.
