UN Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres said on the 18th that he was in “intense contact” with Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, the United States, and the European Union to restore Ukrainian grain exports and prevent the current global food crisis from getting worse.<\/p>\n
“I am hopeful, but there is still some way to go,” said Guterres, who visited Moscow and Kyiv late last month.<\/p>\n
“The complex security, economic and financial implications require goodwill on all sides.”<\/p>\n
At a food security meeting at the United Nations hosted by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Guterres called on Russia to allow the “safe grain exports from Ukraine<\/a>” and for Russian food and fertilizers “to have full and unrestricted access to the world market.”<\/p>\n Global prices for grain, cooking oil, fuel, and fertilizers have soared due to Russia’s war in Ukraine. Guterres has warned that it will exacerbate developing countries’ food, energy, and economic crises.<\/p>\n “It threatens to drive tens of millions of people into food insecurity, followed by malnutrition and hunger, starting a crisis that could last for years,” Guterres said.<\/p>\n Ukraine used to export most of its products through seaports, but since Russia’s February 24 invasion, it has been forced to favor trains or small ports on the Danube River.<\/p>\n UN food chief David Beasley appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin: “If you have a heart, please open these ports.”<\/p>\n Beasley leads the World Food Program, which feeds about 125 million people and buys 50% of its grain from Ukraine.<\/p>\n Source: Not\u00edcias Agr\u00edcolas<\/em><\/p>\n To read the full original article, please go to: <\/em><\/p>\n