UPDATE - Russia's 'irresponsible' withdrawal from grain deal puts global food security at risk: Ukrainian foreign minister

ADDS MORE DETAILS, REVISES DECK

By Betul Yuruk

UNITED NATIONS (AA) - The Ukrainian foreign minister accused Russia of “putting the global food security at risk” after Moscow withdrew from the Black Sea grain deal that allowed Ukraine to export tens of millions of tons of grains over the past year.

“It is an irresponsible move,” Dmytro Kuleba told reporters at the UN headquarters ahead of a Security Council meeting on Ukraine.

“Russia is also doing it while increasing its own exports to global markets,” Kuleba said.

Accusing Russia of putting many nations in Asia and Africa at risk of increasing food prices and hunger, he said: “This must stop now. We all have a headache. We have to solve another created by Russia.”

He said that Russia does not guarantee the safety of any ship that may try to carry Ukrainian cereals from Ukrainian ports to the Joint Coordination Centre in Istanbul or the other way around after Moscow pulled out of the deal.

"We will conduct consultations with the International Maritime Organization," he said.

Asked if the deal was dead and if there could be more negotiation as suggested by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, he replied: "If Türkiye wants to have another round of conversation with Russia, about the commitment of Russia to the deal it signed with Türkiye, we are fine with that".

- 'Hunger games'

"Russia must stop playing hunger games with the people around the world," Kuleba told the UN Security Council.

"I call on all UN member states to firmly demand that Russia resume its participation in the deal in good faith and stop its hunger games. Russia must keep politics out of global food security".

Russia's deputy UN envoy Dmitry Polyanskiy said that Russia will stand ready to consider its resumption only when concrete results are achieved rather than promises and assurances from Western capitals.

Russia refused to renew the grain deal beyond July 17, with the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying: “Unfortunately, the part relating to Russia in this Black Sea agreement has not been implemented so far.”

Russia was seeking the removal of obstacles to its fertilizer exports in order to agree to another extension of the grain deal including the inclusion of its state-owned Russian Agricultural Bank in the SWIFT international payment system.

A year ago, Türkiye, the UN, Russia, and Ukraine signed an agreement in Istanbul to resume grain exports from three Ukrainian Black Sea ports which had been paused after the Russia-Ukraine war began that February.

The deal has been renewed several times since then, and it was extended for another two months on May 18.

The deal ensured the safe passage of over 32 million metric tons of food commodities from Ukrainian ports, according to the UN.

- 'Senseless, unjustified war'

The UN political affairs chief called for an end to the "senseless" and "unjustified" war in Ukraine that killed over 9,000 civilians and left more than 16,000 injured since it started on Feb. 24, 2022.

"In addition to causing unconscionable death and destruction, the war in Ukraine has greatly diminished our ability to face an uncertain future," Rosemary DiCarlo told the Security Council. "It has heightened tensions in different regions, and risks triggering a global arms race".

"The longer this war continues, the more dangerous its consequences, including the possibility of a wider conflict," she warned.

British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, whose country is currently holding the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council, called on Russia to end the war now.

"Ukraine wants peace. We want peace. The whole world wants peace," he said. "Peace will bring home Ukraine’s lost children – and feed the hungry of the world".

"The Russian Federation can choose peace – today. By withdrawing all Russian forces from Ukraine," he added.

US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas Greenfield said that Washington will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes.