UN holds talks in Russia on grain, fertiliser exports

UNITED NATIONS - Top United Nations (UN) trade official Rebeca Grynspan met Russian officials in Moscow on Monday for talks aimed at enabling the “unimpeded access” to global markets for grain and fertilizer from Russia and Ukraine, a UN spokesman said.

UN aid chief Martin Griffiths also attended the meetings virtually, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “continues in his determination to facilitate the unimpeded access to global markets for food products and fertilizers from both Ukraine and the Russian Federation,” Mr Dujarric said.

He added that Ms Grynspan and Mr Griffiths’ consultations with Russia “are taking place with this goal in mind”.

The UN has blamed

Russia’s war in Ukraine

for worsening a global food crisis. Ukraine and Russia are both major grain exporters and Moscow is also a big supplier of fertiliSer to the world.

UN officials are working to try and

revive a deal that had allowed the safe Black Sea export of Ukraine grain.

Russia quit the pact in July - a year after it was brokered by the United Nations and Turkey - complaining that its own food and fertiliser exports faced obstacles and that not enough Ukrainian grain was going to countries in need.

While Russian exports of food and fertiliser are not subject to Western sanctions imposed after Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Moscow has said restrictions on payments, logistics and insurance have hindered shipments.

To convince Russia to agree to the Black Sea deal last year, UN officials said they would help facilitate Russian exports.

Mr Guterres sent Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov a letter in August outlining measures that the UN could help to improve Russia’s grain and fertiliser exports in a bid to convince Moscow to return to a deal.

Mr Lavrov said late last month that Russia has not rejected the U.N. proposals, but described them as “simply not realistic”. REUTERS