The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed his deep regret over Russia's decision to end the implementation of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, including the withdrawal of Russian security guarantees for navigation in the northwestern part of the Black Sea, affirming that this initiative secured safe passage for more than 32 million metric tons of food commodities from Ukrainian ports. The World Food Programme has also shipped over 725 thousand tons to support humanitarian operations to alleviate hunger in some of the most affected regions of the world, including Afghanistan, the Horn of Africa, and Yemen.

Guterres said in a statement today, Monday, that the Black Sea Initiative, alongside the memorandum of understanding on facilitating the export of Russian food and fertilizers, was a lifeline for global food security and a beacon of hope in a troubled world. He pointed out that while food production and availability are disrupted due to conflicts, climate change, energy prices, and other factors, these agreements helped reduce food prices by more than 23% since March of last year.

Guterres noted that with the decision to end the Black Sea Initiative, Russia has also ended its commitment to facilitating the export of food, sunflower oil, and fertilizers without obstacles from Black Sea ports under Ukrainian control, as stipulated in paragraph 1 of the memorandum of understanding between the Russian Federation and the United Nations. He explained that participation in these agreements is ultimately voluntary, but people struggling everywhere and developing countries have no choice, especially since hundreds of millions of people face hunger and consumers face a global cost-of-living crisis.

Guterres said there was already a jump in wheat prices this morning, noting that he was aware of some obstacles that remained in the foreign trade of Russian food products and fertilizers. For this reason, he sent a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin including a new proposal to keep the Black Sea Initiative alive, comprising many measures taken by the United Nations. He emphasized that since the signing of the memorandum of understanding and considering the measures taken by the Russian Federation, Russian grain trade has reached high export volumes and fertilizer markets have stabilized with Russian exports nearing full recovery, as noted by the Russian Federation to the Russian Grain Exporters Association and the Russian Fertilizer Producers.

The Secretary-General of the international organization also expressed his deep disappointment that his proposal went unheeded, saying, "The Russian Federation's decision today will deal a blow to those in need everywhere, but at the same time will not stop the United Nations' efforts to facilitate unhindered access to global markets for food products and fertilizers from both Ukraine and the Russian Federation."

Guterres stressed that the goal must remain to enhance global food security and global food price stability in the future, taking into account the increased humanitarian suffering that will inevitably result from today's decision.

In the same context, the Dutch Foreign Minister, Wopke Hoekstra, expressed his deep sadness over the end of the grain deal and his support for the United Nations, the European Commission, and Turkey in their efforts to find a solution.

Hoekstra wrote on the social media platform Twitter, "It is disappointing that Russia obstructs the extension of the Black Sea Grain Initiative," explaining that extending the deal is important to prevent rising food prices and avoid market destabilization, calling on Russia to resume implementation of the Black Sea Grain Initiative without delay.

For her part, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen condemned Russia's termination of the grain agreement.

Earlier today, Monday, Russian Presidential Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed that the Black Sea agreements have effectively ended and that the part of the deal concerning Russia was not fulfilled, adding, "As soon as the Russian part of the deal is implemented, the Russian side will immediately return to executing this deal."