Islamabad
\nUN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said on Monday that millions of people facing hunger will \u201cpay the price\u201d of Russia\u2019s decision to exit the Ukraine grain deal.
\nHe told reporters at the United Nations headquarters in New York that the move by Moscow will \u201cstrike a blow to people in need everywhere\u201d.
\n\u201cHundreds of millions of people face hunger and consumers are confronting a global cost-of-living crisis. They will pay the price,\u201d Guterres said.
\nThe UN chief\u2019s statement comes after the Kremlin said it was exiting a major agreement to facilitate Ukraine grain exports hours after drones struck Russia\u2019s only bridge connecting its mainland to the annexed Crimea peninsula.
\nMoscow, which has for months complained about the implementation of the grain pact, said the attack on the Kerch bridge had nothing to do with its withdrawal from the deal designed to avoid food shortages in vulnerable countries.
\nThe UN chief said today that he deeply regretted Russia\u2019s decision but added it would not stop the world body\u2019s efforts to \u201cfacilitate the unimpeded access\u201d to global markets of food and fertilisers from Ukraine and Russia.
\n\u201cLooking ahead, our goal must continue to be advancing global food security and global food price stability. \u201cThis will remain the focus of my efforts, taking into account the rise in human suffering that will inevitably result from today\u2019s decision,\u201d he said.
\nGuterres lamented that a letter he had sent to Russian President Vladimir Putin last week with a new proposal to keep the initiative alive \u201cwent unheeded.\u201d<\/p>\n
The letter, the contents of which had not been made public until now, proposed that a subsidiary of Russia\u2019s main agricultural bank, whose activities are hampered by sanctions, be reconnected to the global SWIFT banking system.<\/p>\n
Russia has long complained that sanctions had hampered its own exports of grain and fertiliser, meaning that its terms for extending the initiative were not being met.<\/p>\n
Guterres noted progress in this area, writing to Putin that \u201cRussian grain trade has reached high export volumes and fertiliser markets are stabilising with Russian exports nearing full recovery.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Islamabad UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said on Monday that millions of people facing hunger will \u201cpay the price\u201d of Russia\u2019s decision to exit the Ukraine grain deal. He told reporters at the United Nations headquarters in New York that the move by Moscow will \u201cstrike a blow to people in need everywhere\u201d. \u201cHundreds of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":323552,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-343703","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n