Delivery time2023-07-22 18:01
Russia refutes that “substantial lifting of sanctions such as resumption of banking payment system must be decided first”
A vendor displays grain at a market in Sanaa, Yemen
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(Seoul = Yonhap News) Correspondent Choi In-young = Russia and the West were in sharp confrontation at the UN Security Council over the situation in which grain exports from Ukraine were paralyzed due to Russia’s withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Agreement.
The New York Times (NYT), an American daily, said at an emergency meeting held by the UN Security Council on the 21st (local time) that high-ranking UN officials and Western diplomats, including the US and Europe, slammed Russia for stopping the Black Sea Grain Agreement.
On the other hand, the Russian side threatened to attack civilian ships sailing the Black Sea in accordance with the breach of the agreement, and emphasized that if the agreement was to be resumed, it would have to comply with its demands.
The Black Sea Grain Agreement, which guaranteed grain exports from Ukraine through the Black Sea even during the war, was signed through the mediation of the United Nations and Turkey in July last year, but was suspended when Russia announced on the 17th that it would no longer continue the agreement.
As world grain prices rise after Russia broke the agreement, food prices are destabilizing and fears are growing that poor countries could go hungry.
Martin Griffiths UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian and Emergency Relief
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Martin Griffiths, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian and Emergency Relief, warned that Russia’s breach of the Black Sea Grain Agreement could lead to a humanitarian catastrophe around the world, with 362 million people in 69 countries dependent on humanitarian aid.
He feared that a halt to the accord would “some go hungry, some will starve, and many people could die”.
Rosemary Dikallo, UN Undersecretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding, also condemned escalation of the conflict to the Black Sea, which would have “catastrophic consequences”. He also condemned Russia’s attack on Ukraine’s Black Sea ports and disrupting grain shipments as “unacceptable”.
Dmitry Polyansky, Deputy Ambassador of Russia to the United Nations
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Russia was supposed to guarantee its grain and fertilizer exports through the Black Sea Grain Agreement, but in reality, it is protesting that the agreement cannot be continued because the promise is not being fulfilled due to Western sanctions.
Dmitry Polyansky, Russia’s deputy ambassador to the United Nations, emphasized that seven conditions must be met for Russia to rejoin the Black Sea Grain Agreement, saying, “We want a practical, not a theoretical lifting of sanctions.”
He said the agreement could be resumed as soon as all conditions are met, including rejoining Russian agricultural banks to the international payment system SWIFT and restarting the ammonia pipeline across Ukraine.
It then threatened that it could attack ships heading to Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea, and that the country in which such ships were registered would be considered at war with them.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield refuted the Russian claim.
“They are exporting more grain at higher prices than ever before,” he said. “Russia is playing a political game by using the Black Sea to blackmail them. They are holding humanity hostage.”
abbie@yna.co.kr
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2023/07/22 18:01 Sent
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2023-07-22 09:01:07
