Guterres: Much remains to be done about Ukraine’s grain exports

The Secretary General of the United Nations told reporters on Tuesday local time that there is still a lot of work to be done in negotiations to resume Ukrainian grain exports from the Black Sea.

“We are working really hard, but there is still a lot of work to do,” Guterres said. Many people talk about it, we prefer to try and do it.

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar announced on Tuesday that military delegations from Turkey, Russia and Ukraine will meet with UN officials on Wednesday to discuss the issue.

Many Western countries consider Russia to be the main cause of the food crisis in the world, while the Moscow authorities declare Western sanctions as the cause of shortages and the subsequent increase in global food prices.

Together, Russia and Ukraine account for about 30% of the world’s wheat supply. About 400 million people around the world depend on Ukrainian grain exports.

The United Nations has previously warned that if Ukraine’s ports, which have been closed due to the war, are not reopened, millions of people in the world will face the risk of starvation.

At the beginning of 2022, about 276 million people were facing acute hunger worldwide, but it is expected that if the conflict in Ukraine continues, 47 million people will be added to these people, especially in sub-Saharan African countries.

Russian President Vladimir Putin previously said that Moscow would guarantee the unimpeded passage of ships carrying Ukrainian grain if Kiev demined its ports and ensured the export of cargo through Russian-controlled ports such as Berdyansk and Mariupol.

Turkish authorities have promised to ensure the safety of Ukrainian grain shipments through the Black Sea