UN Secretary-General says it will be difficult to resume the Black Sea grain initiative

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said it will be difficult to restore the grain deal that allowed the safe export of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea, Reuters reports.

“It will be difficult. We continue our efforts. But it will be difficult,” Guterres said.

The UN Secretary-General noted that the goal is for Russia and Ukraine to agree to grant each other freedom of navigation, but admitted that this is unlikely.

To recap, in July, Russia announced that it was withdrawing from the Black Sea Grain Initiative. The following month, Ukraine opened temporary corridors for merchant ships sailing to and from its ports. This was in accordance with an order from the Ukrainian Navy.

According to official correspondence between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the embassies of Russia and Turkey, it became known that Moscow had warned Ankara in advance about its withdrawal from the grain deal. Later, it was reported that Russia, Turkey, and Qatar were working on a new trilateral agreement to replace the previous one.

Tags: UN, Black Sea grain deal