By Michelle Nichols
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – There are “a number of ideas being floated” to help get Ukrainian and Russian grain and fertilizer to world markets after Moscow backed out of a deal allowing the safe export of Ukrainian grain to the Black Sea, the United Nations said on Tuesday.
The Black Sea Agreement was brokered by the UN and Turkey in July last year to tackle a global food crisis worsened by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Ukraine and Russia are among the world’s leading grain exporters.
Russia’s withdrawal on Monday, which included revoking its navigation safety guarantees, also ended a pact between the United Nations and Moscow in which UN officials agreed to help Russian food and fertilizer exports reach world markets.
However, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “will continue to explore all possible avenues to ensure that Ukrainian cereals, Russian cereals and Russian fertilizers are on the world market,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
“There are a number of ideas floating around,” he told reporters, without giving details.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said an alternative to the Black Sea grain deal had to be found and “there are currently very active discussions”. He said the export of Ukrainian grain across Europe would not be able to “compensate for the lack of deliveries from Ukrainian Black Sea ports”.
Kuleba said the focus on reviving Black Sea shipping was either to continue within the existing framework or to create a new model, but added: “The problem, of course, is what will happen if Russia decides to attack a vessel carrying grain.”
“We have to take risks and we have to demonstrate that we can go on without Russia,” he told reporters on Tuesday during a visit to the United Nations.
(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Tim Ahmann, William Maclean)