Guterres: I am committed to the Black Sea Grains Initiative

UN Secretary-General Guterres made a statement to reporters at the UN building in New York. Stating that he will meet separately with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at the UN General Assembly, Guterres stated that the Grain Initiative will be one of the topics important agenda items during meetings.

Guterres said: “I can’t say I’m hopeful or not hopeful about the Black Sea Grains Initiative. All I can say is that I am determined to revive the Black Sea Grains Initiative.” saying.

The UN Secretary General stated that he will make every effort to restore exports of Russian food and fertilizer and Ukrainian grain without violating sanctions against Russia.

Regarding peace talks in Ukraine, Guterres stated that he would welcome the opportunity to play a mediating role, saying: “But I think we are still far from this point.” he made the assessment of it.

Guterres emphasized that they do not support “no peace” in Ukraine, but rather a just peace that is compatible with the UN Charter and international law.

HE SENT A LETTER TO LAVROV

In his August 31 statement, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres noted that they also took into consideration Russia’s complaints and demands regarding the initiative, saying: “I sent a letter to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, and offered concrete suggestions for the renewal of the Black Agreement.” Sea Grains Initiative,” he said.

“The new agreement must be stable. We do not want an initiative that goes from crisis to crisis and is constantly suspended. “We support a useful and beneficial initiative.” Using his own words, Guterres said the proposals were aimed at ensuring more efficient and affordable transportation of Russian food and fertilizer to global markets.

BLACK SEA GRAINS INITIATIVE

To reduce the impact of the Ukraine-Russia war on global food prices, the UN, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine signed the Black Sea Grains Initiative agreement at a ceremony in Istanbul on July 22, 2022. .

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, in his July 17 statement on the expired deal, said: “The Grain Corridor deal has effectively ended and been stopped. Russia will immediately return to the grain agreement as soon as the relevant conditions are met. “The part of the agreement relating to Russia has not been fulfilled.” He used the following expressions. (AA)