Blinken, Guterres discuss ‘grain agreement’ ahead of UN General Assembly

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed the "grain agreement" with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres ahead of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly.

This is said in a press release published on the website of the U.S. Department of State.

“The Secretary and the Secretary-General discussed a wide array of issues, including the Black Sea Grain Initiative, Russia’s unprovoked war against Ukraine, and the security situation in Haiti,” the document says.

According to the press release, they also discussed U.S. priorities for the General Assembly, including reinforcing the core principles of the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, modernizing the UN to address 21st century challenges, and our efforts to advance the UN’s sustainable development goals.

“The Secretary shared information on U.S.-hosted side events focused on addressing the threat of synthetic drugs, harnessing artificial intelligence to advance the UN’s sustainable development goals, and leveraging private capital for major infrastructure projects,” the document says.

As reported by Ukrinform, on July 17, Moscow announced its withdrawal from the "grain agreement" concluded in Istanbul in July 2023.

On September 15, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said that the United States would continue to put pressure on the Russian Federation to revive the Black Sea Grain Initiative. He added that Turkey and UN Secretary General António Guterres are working hard on this issue. 

Photo: china.usembassy-china.org.cn