Executive Director of the UN World Food Program (WFP) David Beasley called for an extension of the grain deal. He announced this on March 5 on his Twitter.
“Millions of hungry people in the world depend on this grain. The population of the Earth will be in danger if we do not extend the Black Sea Grain Initiative,” he said.
According to him, the need to extend the grain deal is dictated by ongoing conflicts on Earth, the coronavirus pandemic, climate change and the earthquake in Turkey and Syria.
“This agreement must be extended at any cost. Ukraine alone is able to feed 400 million people in the world, WFP can help 36 million people only thanks to this deal,” Beasley added.
He warned that not extending the extension would lead to massive destabilization, migratory flows and world famine.
On March 3, a source told RIA Novosti that a deadlock had been created in the negotiations on the extension of the grain deal, there was no clarity.
A day earlier, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced the sabotage of the grain deal by Western countries. According to a document published by the ministry, eight months after the conclusion of the deal, only one part of the “package” is being implemented – for the export of Ukrainian food.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused the West of creating obstacles to the export of Russian agricultural products around the world.
On March 1, US State Department spokesman Ned Price said Washington was urging Moscow to extend the grain deal, which expires on March 18. He noted that the American authorities see no objective reasons preventing this.
The food deal was concluded on July 22, 2022 in Istanbul. Then Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and UN Secretary General António Guterres signed a memorandum on facilitating the supply of Russian agricultural products and fertilizers to world markets. At the same time, the Ukrainian delegation signed an agreement with Turkey and the UN on the export of grain.
The contract expired on November 18, 2022, but included an automatic extension of 120 days. The agreement expires March 18, 2023.
