The slower pace of ship inspections means fewer are arriving at and departing from Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea and consequently smaller quantities are getting where they need to be, the UN Secretary-General’s deputy spokesman said.
The Secretary General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres is disappointed with the way the Russia-Ukraine agreement on grain exports is being implemented, according to a statement from his New York office.
The slower pace of ship inspections means fewer are arriving at and departing from Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea, and consequently smaller quantities are getting where they need to be, Farhan Haq, the UN’s deputy spokesman for the UN secretary-general, said in a press release issued Tuesday.
Exports fell by three-quarters in May compared to the October 2022 level, from 4.2 metric tons to 1.3 million metric tons.
This is the “lowest level” since the agreement came into force, according to the statement.
Mr Guterres called on all parties to speed up the implementation of the agreement and “do everything within their power” to guarantee it remains in force.
The deal was brokered by the United Nations and Turkey last summer, lifting the months-long blockade of Ukrainian Black Sea ports by the Russian Navy. As a result, Ukraine and Russia, two of the main grain exporters on a global scale, resumed their exports, albeit on a more limited scale, preventing crises in various countries of the world, especially in Africa.
But Moscow is demanding an easing of sanctions that block its own agricultural exports (grains and fertilizers), which it says is not progressing and is threatening to end the deal, which formally expires on July 17.
Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin again threatened that Moscow would withdraw from the deal.
The text also provided for ammonia exports, but these did not proceed. Russia used to send 2.5 million tonnes of ammonia a year for export to the Ukrainian port of Pyvdevni by pipeline, but that infrastructure was shut down after it invaded Ukrainian territory in February 2022, and Moscow accuses Kiev’s military of blowing up parts of it.
The Russian side demanded, among other things, that this pipeline be repaired, and last month it excluded this particular port from the agreement.
Source :Skai
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