Guterres further says that the UN is currently focusing on initiatives to increase grain exports via the Black Sea, which have been made possible since last summer, as the UN does not expect any peace talks in the near future.
At the end of July, an agreement was concluded between Ukraine and Russia at the initiative of the UN and Turkey, which has enabled Ukraine to resume grain exports.
To date, 14 million tons of Ukrainian grain have been shipped from three Black Sea ports. Guterres further says that Russian wheat exports have tripled and that the UN is investigating possible exports of Russian ammonia from a port in the Black Sea.
The UN also wants to speed up the exchange of Ukrainian and Russian prisoners of war before the Orthodox Christmas that both countries celebrate in January, says Guterres.