UN Urges Putin to Negotiate Extension of Grain Agreement

United Nations Secretary-General Ant?nio Guterres sent a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin proposing measures to extend the Black Sea Grain Initiative. This agreement, which has opened maritime export routes for Ukrainian and Russian grain over the past year, is set to expire on the 17th.

Last April at the Moscow Kremlin, Russian President Putin met with UN Secretary-General Guterres.

In the letter sent on the 11th (local time), Secretary-General Guterres emphasized the necessity of keeping the Black Sea Grain Initiative operational, stating that "the goal is to remove obstacles affecting financial transactions through the Russian Agricultural Bank while simultaneously allowing continued exports of Ukrainian grain."

Regarding this, major foreign media reported that Secretary-General Guterres proposed extending the agreement in exchange for reconnecting a subsidiary of the Russian Agricultural Bank to the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) payment system.

Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine early last year, it has been expelled from SWIFT, causing disruptions in its international payment operations.

Spokesperson St?phane Dujarric conveyed that Secretary-General Guterres is most concerned about the global vulnerable populations who would suffer the greatest harm if the agreement fails to be extended.

In the letter, Secretary-General Guterres also stressed, "I will continue to emphasize the importance of food and fertilizer exports from Russia and Ukraine for global food security."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.