By Michelle Nichols
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – A senior U.N. official had “constructive discussions” in Moscow with Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov on facilitating Russian grain and fertilizer exports to global markets, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Tuesday.
The U.N. official, Rebecca Grynspan, is now in Washington for more talks, he said. Grynspan is head of the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and coordinator of the U.N. Global Crisis Response Group on Food, Energy and Finance that aims to help countries face economic shocks from the Ukraine war.
“The objective of her discussions is focused on facilitating Russian grain and fertilizer to global markets, with the key aim of addressing growing global food insecurity,” Dujarric said.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who visited Moscow and Kyiv last month, is trying to broker what he calls a “package deal” to resume both Ukrainian food exports and Russian food and fertilizer exports.
Russia’s war in Ukraine has fueled a global food crisis with prices for grains, cooking oils, fuel and fertilizer soaring. Russia and Ukraine account for nearly a third of global wheat supplies, while Russia is also a key fertilizer exporter and Ukraine is a major exporter of corn and sunflower oil.
Since Russia invaded on Feb. 24, Ukrainian grain shipments from its Black Sea ports have stalled and more than 20 million tonnes of grain are stuck in silos, while Moscow says the chilling effect of Western sanctions imposed on Russia over the war has disrupted its fertilizer and grain exports.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that Russia was ready to facilitate the unhindered export of grain from Ukrainian ports in coordination with Turkey, according to a Kremlin readout of talks with President Tayyip Erdogan.
“The Secretary-General is extremely grateful for the support that Turkey is giving in addressing the situation in the Black Sea and supporting the Secretary-General’s own efforts,” Dujarric said.
(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; editing by Costas Pitas and Sandra Maler)
