UN mobilized at highest level to keep grain deal alive

The UN said this Friday that talks on an international deal to export grains from Ukraine are still ongoing, with continuation beyond Saturday appearing uncertain due to disagreements between Moscow and Kiev over extending the protocol.

“Discussions are ongoing,” Alessandra Velucci, the UN spokeswoman in Geneva, told a press conference.

“There is an agreement, it is public (…). The agreement provides for an extension for 120 days. Discussions are ongoing, and we are not going to speculate about what will happen,” Vellucci said.

A UN spokeswoman indicated that UN Secretary-General António Guterres is participating in the ongoing talks.

“Yes, we are committed at all levels. This is an initiative of the Secretary-General, but other senior UN officials are also involved. Everyone is mobilized on this important issue,” said Alessandra Velucci.

And he insisted: “We are all involved in the discussions and we want to guarantee the integrity and continuity of this agreement.”

Earlier in the week, the United Nations stressed that the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which helped alleviate the global food crisis caused by the Russian military offensive in Ukraine, should be extended beyond March 18 (a resumption date by both sides for more than 120 days), although Russia is now demanding extensions for 60 days.

Moscow is demanding the implementation of a second parallel agreement to ease its fertilizer exports, which Russian officials say are not as successful as Ukrainian grain exports due to the blockade of Kiev by Western allies.

Ukraine has accused Russia of “opposing” the Black Sea Grain Initiative, resuming negotiations between Ankara and the UN, which brokered an agreement reached in July 2022 in Istanbul.

Alessandra Velucci stressed that countries must come to an agreement.

“As far as the UN is concerned, as you know, we are not one of the three signatories of the agreement. The three parties to the agreement are Member States. [Rússia, Ucrânia e Turquia] and the United Nations are witnesses to this pact,” the spokeswoman said.

The agreement provides in its provisions for “automatic renewal for the same period [de 120 dias]unless one of the parties notifies the other of its intention to terminate or modify it.”

Since Monday, the UN has said it is doing everything it can to maintain the mechanism that has made it possible to distribute tens of millions of tons of grain on world markets.