UN chief urges Russia to revive grain deal with Ukraine, warning 'the most vulnerable' will suffer
The leader of the United Nations has urged Russia to resume the internationally-brokered deal so that grain can be shipped from Ukraine's Black Sea ports during the war
ROME (AP) — The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday urged Russia to resume the internationally-brokered deal so grain can be shipped from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports, saying otherwise the world's most vulnerable among the hungry will suffer the worst consequences.
The U.N. chief made the call during a speech in Rome at the opening of a three-day food systems summit.
With the recent collapse of the Ukraine-Russia grain deal, “the most vulnerable will pay the highest price,'' Guterres said. He lamented that there are already negative effects on global wheat and corn prices, although he cited no figures.
Both Russia and Ukraine are “essential to global food security,'' the U.N. leader said. He noted that they have historically accounted for 30% of global wheat and barley exports, a fifth of all maize and more than half of all sunflower oil.
