After weeks of negotiations over Russia’s Black Sea grain blockade, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres is traveling to Istanbul today. An agreement with Moscow and Ukraine to export millions of tonnes of Ukrainian grain has not yet been fully negotiated, said UN spokesman Farhan Haq in New York.
“We can solve this problem and potentially save hundreds of thousands, potentially millions of people from the price of food being out of reach,” said Haq. Initially, it was not clear who would be the representatives of the other countries.
“A Little Hope”
Because of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, millions of tons of grain cannot be exported from the country. Food is urgently needed on the world market, especially in Asia and Africa. Russia denies blocking exports.
Representatives from the United Nations, Ukraine, Russia and Turkey recently negotiated in Istanbul. Last week, there were the first cautiously optimistic voices. “Today we finally have a little hope,” Guterres said.