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Senior Russian and United Nations officials have held talks in Switzerland to try to finalize an extension of a deal that would allow Ukrainian grain shipments and Russian grain and fertilizer exports — just over a week before a wartime deal aimed at easing the global food crisis expires.
UN humanitarian affairs chief Martin Griffiths and UN trade chief Rebecca Greenspan, who are in charge of the Russian side of the deal, are in Geneva to meet the Russian team led by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Verhinen.
“It is hoped that this discussion will lead to progress in facilitating the unimpeded export of food and fertilizers originating in the Russian Federation to global markets,” UN Geneva spokeswoman Alexandra Verucci told reporters.
The deal is crucial because Ukraine and Russia are major suppliers of wheat, barley, sunflower oil and other food items, especially in parts of Africa, the Middle East and Asia, where many people are already starving and food prices are soaring.
The failure to update the wartime agreement has sparked fears that the global food crisis will get worse.
UN officials said the meeting focused on the “full implementation” of the two independence agreements signed with Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul on July 22.
Russia briefly suspended participation in the deal two weeks ago, claiming that Ukrainian drones had attacked its Black Sea fleet in Crimea.
Russian authorities have said they are not satisfied with the implementation of the agreement and have not yet decided whether to extend the deal, brokered by the United Nations and Turkey, which expires on November 18.
There are no U.S. or European Union sanctions on food and fertilizer shipments, but Russian diplomats have pointed to problems financing and insuring ships and finding ports where Russian ships can call.
“We need to address some issues related to the well-known parts of the so-called grain trade that we are concerned about,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
“Here, we have a mutual understanding among our counterparts at the United Nations. So, work is being done in that direction.”
Ms Greenspan, head of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, told the Security Council last week that Ukraine and Russia provide about 30 percent of global wheat and barley exports, 20 percent of maize and more than 50 percent of sunflower oil.
Russia is also the world’s largest fertilizer exporter, accounting for 15 percent of global exports.
Ukrainian grain shipments from Black Sea ports have surpassed 10 million metric tons, and the termination of the agreement could have knock-on effects on food prices, supplies and security in many parts of the world, the United Nations said.
“I don’t think anyone wants to see the deal come to an end. I think the situation will be very difficult and the impact will be very severe,” said Bubeck Ben Berhasen, head of trade and markets at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.
“In the short term, prices will definitely respond and prices will rise, especially for wheat, maize and sunflower oil,” he told reporters at a UN briefing on Friday.
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