UN Secretary-General António Guterres is confident that the agreement to export grain from Ukraine can be extended beyond this Friday, when the current period expires, as it is «extremely important» for global food security.
In recent days, the United Nations has maintained contacts with both Ukrainian and Russian authorities with a view to extending a pact signed in July which, so far, has facilitated the export of more than 10.5 million tons of grain, according to data from the organization itself.
Guterres, who has traveled to Bali (Indonesia) on the occasion of the G20 summit, also hopes to meet with the parties in this forum and remove «the last obstacles», mainly regarding the export of food and fertilizers from Russia, according to his office.
In this regard, it has stressed that these products are not directly targeted by the sanctions but do suffer «indirect impacts». For this reason, the UN has contacted the EU, the United States and the United Kingdom, key pillars in the successive rounds of punishments adopted in recent months against Russia for the invasion of Ukraine.
The agreement «is essential for global food security», according to Guterres who has defended its importance to «stabilize markets and bring prices down». Any minimal progress, he added, «reduces hunger and saves lives».
