Kyiv (Commonwealth Union)_ The UN Secretary-General António Guterres stated during the signing ceremony on July 27 in Istanbul, Türkiye, that the “unique agreement” on the restart of Ukrainian grain exports across the Black Sea amid the ongoing conflict is “a light of hope” in a world that sorely needs it.
The UN proposal, which also opens doors for Russian food and fertilizer to enter international markets, will aid in stabilizing the world’s spiraling food costs and preventing famine, which is expected to affect millions of people. The plan explicitly permits significant shipments of commercial food from three important Black Sea ports in Ukraine: Odesa, Chornomorsk and Yuzhny. The creation of a Joint Coordination Center to oversee implementation was also announced by the Secretary-General. Representatives from Ukraine, Russia and Turkey will participate in it, which will be held in Istanbul. Ukrainian ships will lead the cargo ships into Black Sea international seas while steering clear of minefields. After that, the ships will go along a designated route toward the Bosphorus Strait. Teams set up by the Joint Coordination Centre will check ships coming into and leaving the Ukrainian ports.
The Secretary-General met with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, and Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, in April to discuss a proposal.
Two UN Task Forces were established concurrently with the talks; one focused on the transportation of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea and was led by Martin Griffiths, UN humanitarian affairs chief, and the other on facilitating the export of Russian food and fertilizer and was led by Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General of UNCTAD.
In order to provide unrestricted access to food and fertilizer from Russia as well as the export of food from Ukraine from the Black Sea, Russia and Ukraine inked agreements in Istanbul. According to Mr. Guterres, the shipping of grain and food inventories into international markets would assist close the gap in the world’s food supply and relieve pressure on record-high prices. Let that beacon pave the way towards reducing human suffering and achieving peace in these tough and stormy times for the region and our planet.
