Guterres on grain-deal exit Letter and export pledge

Jul 17, 2023

In his complete public statement, António Guterres regrets Russia's decision to end the Black Sea Initiative and withdraw navigation security guarantees in the northwestern Black Sea. He says the initiative moved more than 32 million tonnes of Ukrainian food commodities, including more than 725,000 tonnes for World Food Programme humanitarian operations, and that the initiative and the Russian food-and-fertilizer memorandum helped lower food prices by over 23 percent since March of the previous year. He describes Russia's termination of its commitment to facilitate Ukrainian exports, warns that vulnerable people will pay the price and reports wheat prices rising that morning. Acknowledging remaining obstacles to Russian food and fertilizer trade, he recounts and quotes his earlier proposal letter to Putin. He cites Russian exporters' accounts of high grain volumes and near recovery of fertilizer exports; describes U.S. and UK licenses, an EU derogation, banking and insurance work, a JPMorgan payment mechanism outside SWIFT, asset-unblocking work and fertilizer donations to Africa; and explains a UN-brokered proposal with the European Commission for a Russian Agricultural Bank subsidiary to regain SWIFT access within existing regulations. He says his proposals went unheeded. He nevertheless pledges continued efforts to facilitate both Ukrainian and Russian food and fertilizer access, recognizes Türkiye's work and commits to food security, price stability and solutions. These trade assessments, claimed achievements and predicted harms are his account. The introduction rules out questions; after his closing he declines further comment, and an unidentified reporter's final question is cut off without an answer.

Russia announces it will not continue the Black Sea grain agreement, citing unmet conditions on its food and fertiliser exports and denying a link to the Kerch Bridge attack. The agreement expires at midnight July 17. TSN reports UN, EU, US, Ukrainian and British objections and food-security concerns, with Guterres pledging continued efforts and Borrell supporting EU Solidarity Lanes. Ukraine proposes continuing the maritime route with Turkey and the UN, but no alternative agreement is established in this report. The bulletin describes trade effects and a reported wheat-price rise. In his complete same-day New York statement (show 514), António Guterres says Russia's decision also withdraws navigation security guarantees in the northwestern Black Sea and its commitment to facilitate food, sunflower-oil and fertilizer exports from Ukrainian-controlled Black Sea ports. He describes the initiative's humanitarian role and warns of food-price and hunger consequences. His account and forecasts remain attributed, and do not establish that every Ukrainian export route stopped. Borrell's full Brussels doorstep (show 518) condemns the withdrawal, pledges continued EU Solidarity Lanes and rejects the sanctions explanation as an excuse. Kuleba's same-day CBS exchange (show 520) says inland routes cannot fully compensate for the ports, alleges hunger blackmail and commercial motives, and forecasts higher prices and harm in vulnerable parts of Asia and Africa. His cited 20-percent price fall and forecasts remain his account, not an independently verified result or reopening commitment. In her July 17 statement, Maria Zakharova says Russia has sent documents categorically opposing further extension. She says the arrangement failed and became commercial, portrays rich Western countries and companies as its beneficiaries and cites just three percent for the poorest countries. She conditions Russian readiness to consider restoring it on concrete results and actual exemption of Russian food and fertilizers from sanctions, rejecting promises and guarantees. These are Russia's attributed rationale and conditional position, not evidence that export obstacles were resolved or the deal restored.