Global Courant 2023-04-29 13:22:26
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has spoken with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on how to “guarantee the improvement, expansion and extension” of an agreement that allows the safe export of Ukrainian wheat to the Black Sea.
The pair also discussed how to improve the export of Russian food products and fertilizers to world markets, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
The deal, brokered by the United Nations and Turkey last July, allows Ukrainian grain blocked by the conflict to be safely exported from the country’s Black Sea ports.
However, Russia has repeatedly said it will not allow the agreement to be extended beyond May 18 unless the West removes barriers to Russian exports of grain and fertilizer. Russia and Ukraine are the main producers of wheat, but Moscow says parts of the deal intended to allow it to export its agricultural goods via the Black Sea are not being respected.
Although Russia’s agricultural exports have not been explicitly targeted by Western sanctions, Moscow says restrictions on its payments, logistics and insurance industries — imposed over its military actions in Ukraine — have created a barrier to grain exports and her trash.
Global Courantl
