New York, July 17 – By withdrawing its participation in the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which allowed the exports of over 32 million tons of Ukraine’s food commodities to countries that needed them, Russia also terminated the deal put together by the U.N. and Turkish leaders after it invaded Ukraine.

The grain deal, which the U.N. called the “beacon of hope in a troubled world,” had been renewed every four months since it entered into force on July 18, 2022 and most recently only two months. Under the deal, Russia was able to export grains and fertilizers and it provided security guarantees for navigation in the northwestern part of the Black Sea.

The office of the U.N. coordinator for the deal provided the list of the 10 top importing destinations as follow: China (7,963,950 tons, or 24 per cent of the total), Spain (5,980,657, 18 per cent), Türkiye (3,236,355, 10 per cent), Italy (2,062,420, 6 per cent), The Netherlands (1,959,233, 6 per cent), Bangladesh (1,067,242, 3 per cent), Israel (870,612, 3 per cent), Tunisia (713,518, 2 per cent), and Portugal (708,282, 2 per cent).

The grain deal allowed humanitarian organizations to provide food assistance to countries. The World Food Program (WFP) transported more than 725,000 tons of wheat to people in need in Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. Ukraine supplied more than half of WFP’s wheat grain in 2022, as was the case in 2021.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who brokered the grain deal with Turkeye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, deplored Russia’s decision to end its participation.

“With the decision to terminate the Black Sea Initiative, the Russian Federation also terminated its commitment to “facilitate the unimpeded export of food, sunflower oil, and fertilizers from Ukrainian controlled Black Sea Ports,” he said.

“Ultimately, participation in these agreements is a choice. But struggling people everywhere and developing countries don’t have a choice. Hundreds of millions of people face hunger and consumers are confronting a global cost-of-living crisis,” he said. “They will pay the price.”

United Nations correspondent journalists – United Nations correspondent journalists – United Nations correspondent journalists – United Nations journalism articles – United Nations journalism articles – United Nations journalism articles – United Nations News – United Nations News – United Nations News