UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has offered Russian President Vladimir Putin a new "way forward" to ensure the continued flow of Ukrainian grain from its Black Sea ports, his office said Monday.
Guterres passed along a letter to the Russian leader outlining the proposal during a meeting with Sergey Lavrov, Russia's top diplomat, at the UN's New York headquarters.
During their meeting, Guterres "expressed concerns about the recent obstacles encountered by the Joint Coordination Centre (JCC) in its daily operations," the UN chief's office said in a statement.
"He presented the Foreign Minister with a letter to President Vladimir Putin, outlining a proposed way forward aimed at the improvement, extension and expansion of the BSGI, taking into account positions recently expressed by the parties and the risks posed by global food insecurity," it said, referring to the Black Sea Grain Initiative (BSGI).
"Similar" letters were also sent to Ukraine and Türkiye, it added.
Türkiye, the UN, Russia, and Ukraine signed a deal in Istanbul last July to resume grain exports from three Ukrainian Black Sea ports, which were paused after the Russia-Ukraine war began in February 2022, exacerbating global food insecurity.
The coordination center, or JCC, was set up in Istanbul to oversee the shipments with officials from the three countries and the UN.
The US and Ukraine said last week the Russian delegation at the center has prevented the continued inspection of ships seeking to sail into Ukrainian ports to collect grain.
Guterres "also took note of the concerns expressed by the Russian Federation on the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Russian Federation and the Secretariat of the United Nations on promoting Russian food products and fertilizers to the world markets," his office said.
"He provided a detailed report on the progress already achieved in this regard and reiterated the United Nations' commitment to continue working to address remaining issues," it added.
