War in Ukraine Ukraines NATO membership would exacerbate international tensions

War in Ukraine: Ukraine’s NATO membership would exacerbate international tensions, Vladimir Putin warns


Ukrainian grain: “The ball is in President Putin’s hands,” said Ursula von der Leyen

The deal on Ukrainian grain exports, which expires on July 17, is the focus of a meeting between the United Nations (UN) and the European Union (EU) south of Brussels, says European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

That meeting, which will take place this Thursday and Friday in La Hulpe, comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that “not a single” Russian demand had been taken into account in the negotiations to extend the agreement on the export of Ukrainian grain .

“The ball is in President Putin’s hands,” argued Ursula von der Leyen and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. “Russia has a responsibility to extend the agreement, otherwise there will be global food insecurity,” she said.

For his part, Mr Guterres stressed that the United Nations partnership with the EU was crucial “to restore a relationship of trust with developing countries”.

“Multilateralism is more important than ever: bring peace, protect the planet, end hunger,” added the UN Secretary-General. “We don’t have a minute to lose,” he said.

Russia said last week it saw “no reason” to extend the deal and lamented obstacles to its own supply of agricultural products.

On Tuesday night, a series of Russian drone strikes targeted a grain terminal in the Odessa region of southern Ukraine, home to three major grain export ports.

The Black Sea Grains Initiative, signed in Istanbul in July 2022 with Russia and Ukraine under the auspices of Turkey and the United Nations, has enabled almost 33 million tons of grain to be exported from Ukraine despite the war