UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned on Monday that Russia’s decision to suspend its participation in the Black Sea grain deal will “strike a blow” to people in need everywhere, as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken slammed the move as “unconscionable”.
“Hundreds of millions of people face hunger and consumers are confronting a global cost-of-living crisis. They will pay the price,” Mr Guterres told reporters in New York.
“Ultimately, participation in these agreements is a choice,” he added, but noted “struggling people everywhere and developing countries don’t have a choice”.
The suspension marks the end of an agreement brokered by the UN and Turkey a year ago that allowed more than 32 million tonnes of food to be exported from Ukraine, with more than half going to developing countries, according to the Joint Co-ordination Centre in Istanbul.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the move “unconscionable”.
“This should be restored as quickly as possible. And I hope that every country is watching this very closely,” he said.
“They will see that Russia is responsible for denying food to people who are desperately needed around the world and to contribute to rising prices at a time when many countries continue to experience very difficult inflation.”
Putin ignores Guterres's proposal
Mr Guterres also said he was “deeply” disappointed that a new proposal to extend the deal he sent to Russian President Putin went “unheeded”.
He said the UN would not stop in efforts to enable “unimpeded access” to global markets for food products and fertilisers from both Ukraine and Russia.
Washington’s ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield called Russia’s suspension of its participation in the initiative “another act of cruelty” and said Moscow was “playing games” and holding “humanity hostage”.
She called on the international community to urge Russia to reverse its “decision, resume negotiations extend, expand and fully implement” the initiative.
Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told reporters in New York that Mr Putin was using “hunger as a weapon against the entire world in his brutal war of aggression”.
“The fact that the Russian President has announced that he is once again interrupting the Black Sea Initiative, which brings grain from Ukraine to the entire world, makes it clear that he has no regard for the globe’s weakest,” she said.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby, who called the Russian leader's decision “dangerous”, said Washington would continue to work with other countries to ensure the movement of grain out of Ukraine.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told journalists at UN headquarters that there was a state of confusion within the international community regarding Russia's status in the Black Sea grain initiative. It remains unclear whether Moscow has suspended its participation or completely terminated it.
"There is a debate in this building whether the Russian move is a suspension or termination of the agreement. And Russia itself as you know is avoiding clarity because in one text they speak about termination, then in another comment they speak about suspension," he said.
Richard Gowan, who oversees Crisis Group's advocacy efforts at the UN, told The National that Russia was displaying a more aggressive posture towards the world body.
During the initial part of the Ukraine conflict, Russia showed a willingness to compromise with western powers on challenging matters within the UN, he noted.
“It seemed that Russia aimed to maintain the UN as a platform for negotiation,” Mr Gowan said.
“However, in the past month, we observed Russia assisting Mali in expelling peacekeepers from its territory and subsequently obstructing the humanitarian resolution concerning Syria.
“The Russians are increasingly dismissive of the UN. With Ukraine pushing ahead with its counter-offensive, Moscow sees little reason to compromise on other international issues through the UN.”
