UN Security Council: countries’ position regarding the Grain Agreement

Ukraine is outraged, but not surprised, by кussia’s statement regarding the termination of its participation in the Black Sea Grain Initiative. USM tells how the civilized countries at the UN Security Council commented on russia’s statements regarding the termination of the Grain Agreement.

On Monday, October 31, a meeting of the UN Security Council convened by russian federation regarding the Grain Initiative was held in New York. At the meeting, russian federation spoke about attacks on warships of the Black Sea Fleet, which were allegedly involved in guaranteeing the safety of the sea corridor for the transportation of Ukrainian grain.

However, russian federation spent most of its speech on nonsense. For example, Vasiliy Nebenzya, russia’s ambassador to the UN, said that drones were found on the territory of Ukraine, which were supposed to carry mosquitoes infected with diseases. He added that projects were allegedly implemented in Ukraine to study the possibility of the spread of infections through birds and bats.

Representatives of other UN member states did not take russia’s accusations seriously. In particular, the US Permanent Representative to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, called the meeting a “waste of time.” Without paying attention to the statements of russian Federation, the Grain Initiative was discussed at the Security Council.

Position of Ukraine

Ukraine is outraged, but not surprised, by russia’s statement regarding the termination of its participation in the Black Sea Grain Initiative, said the Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the UN, Serhii Kyslytsia, at the meeting of the Security Council.

“This statement did not come as a surprise, as russia has never given up on exacerbating the food crisis as an instrument of pressure and blackmail on the world,” he said.

Kyslytsia noted that russia had previously threatened to abandon this initiative — russia had been blocking the passage of ships through the grain export corridor since September.

“This is an absolutely deliberate blockade on the russian part. Its intention is extremely clear: to force Ukraine to give in to the Kremlin’s demands by means of blackmail, in order to return the threat of large-scale famine throughout the world,” Kyslytsia added.

According to him, “crocodile tears of Putin’s representative do not hide the cynicism of his masters and their complete contempt” for the urgent needs of millions of people in different parts of the world.

More than 2 million tons of food are currently on board ships blocked in the grain corridor. Access to food worsened for at least 7 million consumers, the postpred said. He also reminded that russia actively steals Ukrainian grain in the occupied territories.

Kyslytsia emphasized that Ukraine remains committed to faithfully fulfilling its obligations under the Black Sea Grain Initiative.

Position of the US 

Russia, by its actions regarding the termination of participation in the “grain” agreement, seeks to turn food into a weapon, said the representative of the United States, Ambassador Jeffrey De Laurentiis.

“Partners in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Europe are working together to strengthen the sustainability of global food systems. At the same time, russia shows readiness to turn food into weapons,” the US representative emphasized.

He recalled that, according to the UN, at the beginning of the year, conflicts, COVID-19 and the consequences of the climate crisis had already created conditions for acute food shortages for 190 million people. After putin unleashed a war against Ukraine, another 70 million people can add to this statistic.

“Russian federation’s actions affect low- and middle-income countries. In addition, food prices are rising around the world, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis and increasing threats to global food security,” added Geoffrey De Laurentiis.

He called on russia to renew its participation in the initiative to export grain through the Black Sea so that people around the world could avoid the threat of a food crisis.

The representative of the US delegation also emphasized that russian federation continues to carry out attacks on Ukrainian ports and infrastructure.

“Let me once again clearly emphasize what we have said many times. There is only one way to solve the problem of numerous gaps in the food supply chains caused by this conflict: russia must stop its war and withdraw its forces from Ukraine,” the US representative emphasized.

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Position of the UN

The representative of the UN generally rejected all the claims of russian federation. UN Deputy Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths reminded that warships of the Black Sea Fleet of russia have no relation to the security of the sea corridor for the transportation of Ukrainian grain.

“First, to be clear: no military vessels, aircraft or assets are involved or involved in supporting the initiative by any party. They are not needed. In fact, they are prohibited from approaching cargo ships closer than 10 nautical miles, according to procedures agreed by all parties,” Griffiths explained.

According to him, the UN is ready to investigate, together with the member states participating in the initiative, whether the Black Sea Grain Initiative was used to obtain a military-operational advantage.

Griffiths also reminded that 38 countries bought about 9 million tons of grain in Ukraine as part of the Black Sea Grain Initiative.

The increase in prices and the “insurance” issue were not overlooked. Griffiths noted that “recent events have sent wheat prices soaring, and every fraction of a percentage point brings someone around the world closer to extreme poverty.” The UN representative also added that insurers can increase insurance premiums for shipping on the Black Sea by a quarter or a half, which also affects the price of grain.

Currently, without paying attention to the statements of russian federation, ships have left Ukrainian ports. Even those who are still trying to negotiate with russian federation — the UN and Turkey — emphasized the need to continue the “grain initiative” and agreed to the movement of ships through the humanitarian corridor.

Russia’s current actions also confirm that a terrorist country has resorted to “humanitarian blackmail.” Thus, the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine reported that the UN and Turkey increased the number of inspection groups to 10. Thanks to this, the Joint Coordination Center in Istanbul on October 31 inspected 46 ships with 1.7 million tons of Ukrainian agricultural products, which had already left for the ports of destination.

“The queue of vessels in the Bosphorus waiting for inspection has reduced to 147 vessels for both exit and entry. This amount could be 30-40% more if the Russian Federation did not block inspections in the Bosphorus,” the MIU emphasized.

As of October 1, 17 ships passed through the humanitarian corridor within the framework of the “grain initiative” in 2 days. That is, russian federation did not achieve any result from its statements – the export of grain to the countries of Africa, Asia and Europe continues.

The text broadcast of the speeches of the representatives of the countries was taken from Ukrinform.