UN chief warns “handful of donations” can't replace Black Sea deal - Reuters

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned on Thursday that a "handful of donations" won't correct the dramatic impact of the end of a deal that had allowed the safe Black Sea export of Ukraine grain for the past year.

That’s according to Reuters, Ukrinform reports.

"It is clear that when taking out of the market millions and millions of tonnes of grains it is clear that ... will lead to higher prices," Guterres told reporters. "So it's not with a handful of donations to some countries that we correct this dramatic impact that affects everybody, everywhere."

Guterres added that any increase in food prices would now be paid for by everyone and everywhere - and above all by developing countries and vulnerable people in middle-income countries and even in developed nations.

As reported earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday told African leaders he would gift them tens of thousands of tons of grain within months despite Western sanctions, which he said made it harder for Moscow to export its grain and fertilizers.

On July 17, Moscow declared its withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative, concluded in Istanbul in July 2022. After that, Russia’s Ministry of Defense announced it would consider ships heading to Ukrainian ports as military targets.

The United States spoke at the UN Security Council on Wednesday, stressing that the latest Russian attacks on Ukrainian ports and other grain infrastructure have global consequences. In this regard, the U.S. called on the international community to join forces to increase pressure on Moscow and restore and expand the Black Sea Grain Initiative.