UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres calls for renewal of Ukraine grain deal

UNITED NATIONS: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for the renewal of the Ukraine grain deal, and for the application of the same spirit of multilateralism at the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference in Egypt, or COP27. At a press encounter on Thursday, Guterres called for the renewal of the Black Sea Grain Initiative as Russia has agreed to resume its participation, Xinhua news agency reported.

"Now that the initiative has fully resumed, I appeal to all parties to concentrate efforts in two areas: first, to renewal and full implementation of the Black Sea Initiative; second, to removing the remaining obstacles to the exports of Russian food and fertilizer," said Guterres.

"I am fully committed — along with the entire United Nations system — to the achievement of both these essential objectives," he said.

The initial duration of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which allows the export of Ukrainian grain and other agricultural products from Black Sea ports, is 120 days and expires on November 19. The parties had agreed that the deal could be extended automatically on the condition that no party objects.

The Russian announcement on Saturday of the suspension of its participation in the deal had dampened hopes for its renewal.

Russia announced on Wednesday that it will resume its participation, after days of diplomatic engagement. Guterres had to alter his travel plan to focus on this issue.

The world needs safe and unimpeded navigation for exports of grain, foodstuffs and fertilizer from Ukraine through the Black Sea, and the world needs concerted efforts to urgently address the global fertilizer market crunch and make full use of Russian export capacity, said Guterres.

"Higher fertilizer prices are already affecting farmers around the world. We cannot allow global fertilizer accessibility problems to morph into a global food shortage," he said. (IANS)

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