UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday said it is of critical importance to extend the Black Sea Grain Initiative which is set to expire on March 18, so as to allow the continued shipment of grains and fertilizers from both Russia and Ukraine.

Guterres said that the export of Ukrainian and Russian food and fertilizers are essential to global food security and food prices, saying that the signing of the initiative has provided for the export of 23 million tons of grain from Ukrainian ports and contributed to the lowering of the global cost of food.

“I want to underscore the critical importance of the rollover of the Black Sea Grain Initiative on 18 March, and the working to create the condition to enable the greatest possible use of transport infrastructure in the Black Sea, in line with the objectives of the initiative,” Guterres said at a joint news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the capital Kyiv.

Last July, Türkiye, the UN, Russia and Ukraine signed an agreement in Istanbul to resume grain exports from three Ukrainian Black Sea ports which were paused after the Russia-Ukraine war began in February 2022.

He further said that the safety and security around the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is also vital, noting that he believes the full demilitarization of the plant, which has been under Russian control since last March, would also be important.

“I believe the possible mediation to seek the full demilitarization of the area while ensuring the plant can return to normal operations would also be important, and the UN is ready to offer its good offices,” the UN chief added.

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