UN Secretary-General welcomes renewal of grain deal by all parties

17 November 2022


UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed Thursday's decision by all parties to extend the grain deal, which expires November 19.


"I welcome the agreement by all parties to extend the grain initiative, which will facilitate the safe shipping of grain, food and fertilizer exports from Ukraine," according to a statement from the secretary-general published on the world organization's official website.


"The UN is fully committed to removing the remaining obstacles to food and fertilizer exports from the Russian Federation. Both agreements signed three months ago in Istanbul are essential <...> to avoid a food crisis," the secretary-general is convinced. He believes that the situation around the extension of the grain export initiative demonstrates the importance of "careful diplomacy" when it comes to multilateral decision-making.


TV-100, citing sources at the Istanbul Coordination Center (ICC), claimed on Thursday that the deal had been extended for another 120 days.


Ukraine's Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov was the first to speak out about the situation with the grain deal extension. He stated that the grain deal would be extended for this period.


Arrangements for the export of food from Ukraine were concluded on July 22 for 120 days. They are valid until November 19 and are automatically extended for 120 days if none of the parties (Russia, UN, Ukraine and Turkey) objects. One of the agreements regulates the procedure for grain exports from the Kiev-controlled ports of Odessa, Chernomorsk and Yuzhny. The Joint Coordination Center established by Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and the UN in Istanbul is designed to inspect vessels with grain in order to prevent arms smuggling and exclude provocations.

 

 

GSV "Russia - Islamic World"

Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry

Based on materials from TASS