The governments of Russia and Ukraine have reached an agreement to extend an agreement reached in July for the export of grain from Ukrainian ports, the United Nations has confirmed, shortly after Kiev confirmed that the parties had agreed to extend its validity for a period of 120 days.
«I applaud the agreement between all parties to maintain the Black Sea Grain Initiative to facilitate the safe navigation of grain, food products and fertilizer exports from Ukraine,» UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statement posted on the agency’s website.
He stressed that «the United Nations is fully committed to supporting the Joint Coordination Center to ensure that this vital supply line runs smoothly,» before adding that the agency «is fully committed to removing outstanding obstacles to the export of food and fertilizer from Russia.»
«Both agreements signed in Istanbul three months ago are essential to lower food and fertilizer prices and avert a global food crisis,» stressed Guterres, who maintained that «the initiative demonstrates the importance of quiet diplomacy and finding multilateral solutions.»
For his part, the Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has indicated in his account on the social network Twitter that «in line with the resolution reached by Turkey, the UN, Russia and Ukraine, the Black Sea Grain Initiative has been extended 120 days from November 19, 2022, as a result of the four-way discussions hosted by Turkey».
«With the delivery of more than eleven million tons of grain and food products to people in need via nearly 500 ships over the past four months, the importance and benefits of this agreement for the world’s food supply and security are a given,» explained Erdogan, who thanked Guterres and the presidents of Russia and Ukraine, Vladimir Putin and Volodimir Zelenski, respectively, for «their willingness to extend the agreement.»
Zelenski has already applauded the extension and said that «Ukraine, together with António Guterres and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has taken a key decision in the global fight against the food crisis».
The Ukrainian president has also said that Kiev will only allow the export of Russian ammonium – key for fertilizers – in case there is an agreement on the release of all prisoners of war, as reported by the Interfax agency.
«On the export of ammonium. We can agree only if an ‘all-for-all’ prisoner exchange is reached. We do not want to trade with Russia and help them. It is our enemy. There can only be agreement in exchange for all prisoners, theirs and ours,» he stressed.
However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said that there are «guarantees» from the UN that «work to ensure the export of Russian food and fertilizers will be completed.» «This UN work has results,» he stressed.
In this sense, he has indicated that there is «significant progress» and has assured that «this work will be concluded to fully unblock all direct and indirect problems», while denying that the talks have addressed the possibility of an indefinite extension of the agreement.
KIEV PROPOSED A ONE-YEAR EXTENSION Earlier in the day, Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksander Kubrakov had announced a 120-day extension of the agreement. He said that «the decision has just been taken in Istanbul» and added that «the United Nations and Turkey remain guarantors of the initiative». Negotiations had recently intensified in view of the expiration this Saturday of the current agreement.
In this regard, Kubrakov revealed that Kiev had advocated extending the initiative «for at least a year» and including the port of Mikolaiv, while stressing that Ukraine «is awaiting a response», without the Russian government having commented on the announcements for the time being.
Kubrakov defended that «Ukrainian agricultural exports are still an effective tool to face the global food crisis» and stressed that since the agreement came into force more than eleven million tons of products have been exported to 38 countries of the world.
«It is a significant amount, but it is not enough. The global market cannot replace Ukrainian agricultural products in the short term. At the same time, it is impossible to increase our food for the world,» the Ukrainian minister explained.
«It is also important to ensure effective operation of the Joint Coordination Center. We have put forward proposals to solve the existing problems. We should use the full export potential of our ports so that the world could quickly receive the quantities of food it needs,» he concluded.
Russia and Ukraine signed an agreement on July 22 after mediation by Turkey and the United Nations to unblock the export of grain and fertilizers, a pact that was briefly interrupted by Moscow’s accusations against Kiev for alleged threats to the security of the corridor. Eventually, Moscow announced its return to the agreement after citing Ukrainian «guarantees», although Kiev denied having made concessions.
