UN Working With US, EU To Facilitate Exports Of Russian Food, Fertilizers - Guterres

UN Working With US, EU to Facilitate Exports of Russian Food, Fertilizers - Guterres

The United Nations has been working together with the European Union and the United States to remove the financial and logistical obstacles which halt the exports of Russian grain and fertilizers, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Saturday

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th August, 2022) The United Nations has been working together with the European Union and the United States to remove the financial and logistical obstacles which halt the exports of Russian grain and fertilizers, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Saturday.

"The sanctions do not apply to food and fertilizers, but of course there is a chilling effect on the private sector, and there are a certain number of obstacles and difficulties that need to be overcome in relation to shipping, insurance, finance. I can tell you that we are working hard in cooperation with the US, the EU in order to be able to make those obstacles being removed and to allow for what we can see that is extremely important for people especially in developing countries," Guterres told reporters at the grain deal's Joint Coordination Center in Istanbul.

The secretary general also said that without consistent delivery of fertilizers in 2022, "there may not be enough food in 2023," adding that getting more food and fertilizer out of Ukraine and Russia is "critical to further calm commodity markets and lower prices for consumers."

On July 22, Russia, Ukraine, and Turkey signed an UN-brokered initiative to provide a humanitarian maritime corridor for ships with food and fertilizer exports from Black Sea ports. Three key Ukrainian ports - Odesa, Chornomorsk, and Yuzhne - were unblocked to resume exports.