United Nations spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a daily news conference that senior UN officials had constructive talks with First Deputy Prime Minister Andrey Belousov in Moscow on the resumption of Russia’s grain and fertilizer exports to global markets.
The spokesperson answered a journalist’s question about the contacts made by the President of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Rebecca Grynspan, in Moscow yesterday.
Spokesperson Dujarric stated that Grynspan held talks in Moscow yesterday at the request of Secretary General Guterres and said, “As we have said before, the talks were held with the main aim of solving the growing global food insecurity, the newly emerging food insecurity in Sudan. It was focused on facilitating the introduction of Russian grains and fertilizers to global markets. Grynspan had a very constructive meeting with Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Andrey Belousov.”
Grynspan is the coordinator of the UN’s Food, Energy and Finance Global Crisis Response Group, which is engaged to alleviate the economic hardship of countries from the Ukraine war and to assist countries suffering from food and grain shortages.
Spokesperson Dujarric said that UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who visited Moscow and Kiev last month, is trying to provide a compromise basis for both Ukraine and Russia to resume food and fertilizer exports, and that UN official Grynspan’s contacts are within this framework. Stating that he continues, “Grynspan had very productive contacts in Moscow yesterday. Today, he is holding various contacts in Washington,” he said.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, the shipment of grain from the Black Sea ports and the export of more than 20 million tons of grain, both on ships and in silos, have completely stopped.
Russian President Vladimir Putin stated yesterday that Russia is ready to facilitate unhindered grain exports from Ukrainian ports in coordination with Turkey.