BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - THE United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, is warning that the decision by Moscow to suspend the Black Sea Grain Initiative would leave the most vulnerable in developing countries hungry.
Russia has signaled its intention to suspend the agreement that allows for Ukraine to freely ship grains from its ports.
Russia’s President, Vladimir Putin, ordered his troops to invade Ukraine and that has hampered the free flow of wheat and grains, sending food prices higher across the world since the start of the war during the pandemic.
Now, the latest decision is not sitting well because the pandemic has left a number of people vulnerable to food insecurity.
“Hundreds of millions of people face hunger and consumers are confronting a global cost-of-living crisis. They will pay the price. Indeed, we are already seeing a jump in wheat prices this morning,” Guiterres said.
Russia has called for the parties involved in the trade to allow for its demands to be met before it could rejoin the Initiative, including allowing for more of its foreign trade such as fertilizers and food to move freely.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the United States and other developed nations have put pressure on Putin and his top Oligarchs, pressuring the country’s economy.
The sanctions have affected many companies within the European nation.
The United States, United Kingdom and other European Union member states went a step further and cut off the country’s bank sector from the SWIFT mechanism that allows for the transfer of funds around the world.
“I am aware of some obstacles that remained in the foreign trade of Russian food and fertilizer products. This is precisely why I sent a letter to President Putin with a new proposal to keep the Black Sea Initiative alive.
“In that letter, which I believe is necessary to quote at length, I underlined that:
‘Since the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding, and also taking into account the measures adopted by the Russian Federation, Russian grain trade has reached high export volumes and fertilizer markets are stabilizing with Russian exports nearing full recovery, as stated by the Russian Union of Grain Exporters and Russian Fertilizer Producers Association,” Guiterres said.
Acting as the broker, the United Nations has gained concessions from the United States that allowed for some positives for Russia, Guterres reminded.
“The United Nations has helped to secure the issuance of: U.S. General License 6B and 6C, which are especially important in light of the extraterritorial nature of US sanctions as these licenses apply not only to US imports from the Russian Federation but also to all countries concerned with their sanctions regime; two UK General Licenses on finance and trade in food and fertilizers, which are especially important for the insurance market; and the derogation by the European Union in its ninth sanctions package, which allowed, for example, the unfreezing of assets of fertilizer companies, as well as a range of clarifications, “ explained Guterres.
Speaking to the issue of SWIFT, the Secretary-General reminded that the United Nations recently brokered “a concrete proposal to enable a subsidiary of the Russian Agricultural Bank to regain access to SWIFT with the European Commission.
According to Guiterres, the key element underpinning this proposal’s political viability is that it couldn be implemented within existing regulations. “We see this as a unique political opening, stemming from a genuine desire to protect global food security beyond 17 July.”
