On Tuesday, the United Nations (UN) defended the importance of the grain export deal and its impact on lower global food prices after the latest criticism from the Russian president, who is considering abandoning it.
Asked about Putin’s remarks, UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric avoided giving a direct answer to the Russian leader, but stressed that the UN will continue to do everything in its power to preserve the pact, which he considers very positive.
“It is clear that (…) there has been a fall in world food prices and we are interested to see how this will continue to ensure that prices do not rise again,” the spokesman said during his daily press conference.
Dujarric also reminded that the UN continues to work to promote Russian exports of grains and fertilizers, having made “some progress”, although obstacles remain.
The point is one of the main claims of Putin, who on Tuesday felt that his country had been deceived and that “nothing” had been done to remedy the situation caused by the side effects of Western sanctions that do not directly affect food, but, according to the UN, prevent sales in Russia due to problems with insurance, payments and fears that companies will violate sanctions.
In addition, the Russian president criticized the fate of Ukrainian grain exports facilitated by the agreement, saying that most of them go to the European Union (EU).
Russia signed this agreement not in favor of Ukraine, but “in the interests of our friendly countries in Africa and Latin America. Because grain should go, first of all, to the poorest countries,” Putin insisted.
In this sense, Dujarric recalled that the UN had nothing to say about the “commercial contracts” that these sales govern, and recalled that the data was publicly available.
According to the UN, China, Spain, Turkey, Italy, the Netherlands, Egypt, Bangladesh and Israel are currently the countries that received the most products from Ukraine.
In any case, the spokesman insisted that the release of these products improved the situation with food prices around the world.
Asked about another Kremlin claim that Ukraine would use maritime corridors for drone strikes, Dujarric said he had no information on the matter.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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