UN chief says it will be difficult to revive Black Sea grain deal
(Reuters) — United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told Reuters on Wednesday that it will be difficult to revive a landmark deal that allowed the safe Black Sea export of Ukraine grain.
Russia quit the deal in July over complaints about its own exports.
“It will be difficult. We are going on with our efforts. But it will be difficult,” Mr. Guterres said.
He said the goal would be to have Russia and Ukraine agree to allow freedom of navigation for each other, but admitted this was unlikely. Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine early last year.
The United Nations has blamed Russia's invasion for worsening a global food crisis. Ukraine and Russia are both major grain exporters. Russia also is a big supplier of fertilizer to the world.
U.N. officials are working to try to revive the deal, which Russia quit a year after it was brokered by the United Nations and Turkey — complaining that its own food and fertilizer exports faced obstacles and that not enough Ukrainian grain was going to countries in need.
Ukraine launched what it calls a temporary export corridor in August to allow agricultural exports as an alternative arrangement. More than 700,000 metric tons of grain have left Ukrainian ports via the new route.
Nearly 33 million metric tons of Ukraine grain were exported under the Black Sea deal.
