On the eve of the expiration of a deal enabling Ukraine to export grain, the United Nations' humanitarian chief called its extension crucial to ensuring global food supplies and keeping prices from spiraling.
Russia United Nations Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia, center right, listens before the U.N. General Assembly vote in favor of a U.N. resolution upholding Ukraine's territorial integrity and calling for a cessation of hostilities after Russia's invasion, Thursday Feb. 23, 2023 at U.N. headquarters.
The original 120-day agreement was renewed last November and expires Saturday. It would be automatically extended for another 120 days unless one of the parties objects — and Nebenzia said Russia has formally objected. There has been “meaningful progress, but impediments remain, notably with regard to payment systems,” he said, stressing that U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and trade chief Rebeca Grynspan “are sparing no effort to facilitate its full implementation.”
As a result, Nebenzia said Russia has officially informed the Turkish and Ukrainian sides through a note that it does not object to extending the Black Sea grain initiative, but just for 60 days, until May 18. U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield countered that the world knows that Russia’s food exports are at least as high as their pre-war levels, and “when we hear the Russian government say they are being held back from exporting grain, from exporting fertilizer, the numbers show it’s just not true.”
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