United Nations chief Antonio Guterres is disappointed with the way a deal that allows secure wartime exports of Ukrainian grain is being implemented and has urged for an expedited process of Black Sea shipments, a U.N. spokesperson said Tuesday, as Russia has threatened to withdraw from the pact next month.
The U.N. and Türkiye brokered the Black Sea Grain Initiative with Russia and Ukraine in July 2022 to help tackle a global food crisis worsened by Moscow's invasion of its neighbor and blockade of Ukrainian Black Sea ports.
But food exports "have dropped significantly from a peak of 4.2 million metric tons in October 2022 to 1.3 million metric tons in May, the lowest volume since the initiative began last year," said deputy U.N. spokesperson Farhan Haq.
Guterres was disappointed by a slowing pace of ship inspections and the exclusion of Pivdennyi (Yuzhny) port – one of three Ukrainian ports covered by the Black Sea export deal.
"The Secretary-General calls on the parties to accelerate operations and urges them to do their utmost to ensure the continuation of this vital agreement, which is up for renewal on 17 July," Haq said in a statement.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week that Russia was considering withdrawing from the grain deal.
The Kremlin on Wednesday restated its position that there are "no grounds" to extend the initiative, saying that the accord was not being properly implemented.
The Black Sea pact also allows for ammonia shipments, but none have happened. Russia used to pump up to 2.5 million tons of ammonia annually to Pivdennyi port for global export. But the pipeline was shut down by the war and earlier this month, Moscow accused Ukrainian forces of blowing up part of the pipeline.
Restarting the pipeline was one of several Russian demands made in talks to extend the Black Sea grain deal. Last month, it stopped vessels traveling to Pivdennyi port under the Black Sea grain deal until the ammonia pipeline was restarted.
To convince Russia to agree to the initiative, a three-year pact was also struck in July 2022, in which the U.N. agreed to help Moscow overcome any obstacles to its own food and fertilizer shipments.
While Russian exports of food and fertilizer are not subject to Western sanctions imposed after the invasion of Ukraine, Moscow says restrictions on payments, logistics and insurance have amounted to a barrier to shipments.
On a call with reporters, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday that the U.N. had been forced to acknowledge that "unfortunately, they are not managing to exert the necessary influence on the countries of the collective West to fulfill this Russian part of the agreement."
The U.N. has confirmed that it cannot do anything to address some of Russia's central grievances, the state Tass news agency cited Russia's Foreign Ministry as saying Tuesday.
Haq said the U.N. was "fully committed" to supporting the implementation of the Black Sea Grain Initiative and the pact to facilitate Russia's food and fertilizer exports.
"This is especially critical now as the new grain harvest begins in Ukraine and the Russian Federation," he said.
