“The people of Ukraine and beyond need peace and they need peace now,” he told the Security Council, saying that this peace should be in line with the UN Charter and international law.
During this meeting, The Secretary-General provided an update on his visit to Ukraine last week to follow up on the landmark agreement to bring grain from the country back into global markets.
“I can report to the Council that the Black Sea Grain Initiative, signed in Istanbul in July, is progressing well – with dozens of ships sailing in and out of Ukrainian ports, loaded so far with over 720,000 metric tonnes of grains and other food products,” he told ambassadors.
The Initiative – signed by Ukraine, Russia, Türkiye and the UN – represents “a powerful demonstration of what can be achieved, in even the most devastating of contexts, when we put people first,” he added though pointing to the work still ahead.
“The other part of this package deal is the unimpeded access to global markets of Russian food and fertilizers, which are not subject to sanctions. It is critical that all governments and the private sector cooperate to bring them to market”, he underlined.
