UN, Russians to discuss extension of Ukraine export deal
Senior U.N. and Russian officials are to meet for talks in Geneva on Friday on extending the deal that returned Ukrainian grain to world markets and was supposed to eliminate obstacles for Russian exports of grain and fertilizer
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Senior U.N. and Russian officials planned to meet in Geneva on Friday for talks on extending the deal that returned Ukrainian grain to world markets and was supposed to eliminate obstacles for Russian exports of grain and fertilizer.
The agreement expires Nov. 19, and Ukraine and Western nations are pressing for it to be extended. However, Russia's government has said it is undecided, expressing dissatisfaction with how the deal has worked for its side.
U.N. humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths and U.N. trade chief Rebeca Grynspan, who has been in charge of the Russian side of the agreement, were to meet with a Russian delegation led by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin, the U.N. said Thursday.
Separate agreements brokered by the United Nations and Turkey and signed by Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul on July 22 were a rare example of tacit cooperation between the warring nations in the face of an escalating global food crisis following Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of its smaller neighbor.
