The UN Secretary General said on Thursday that the organization is "deeply committed to resuming the Black Sea initiative", which allowed the export of grain from Ukraine, but that "mutual guarantees" are needed.

Quoted by Lusa, António Guterres said that "contrary to what has been said recently, we remain actively engaged especially in aspects such as the Russian Federation's access to financial markets and other aspects to facilitate its exports".

"We are making efforts to restore an environment in which mutual guarantees can be given for the solution of the problem," Guterres said at a press conference in Jakarta, stating that "the difficulties we face in having the goodwill of other partners around the world, increase dramatically when the Russian Federation bombs ports and grain warehouses, because that creates doubt as to whether or not Russia is prepared to resume the Black Sea initiative, and that creates some resistance in other countries."

Guterres defended the positive impact of the agreement to transport grain across the Black Sea, considering that the majority of Ukraine's exports went to developing countries and that, overall, prices had fallen.

"The majority of Ukraine's exports have gone to developing countries, although an important part has gone to developed countries," said the Portuguese, asked by Lusa about Russian accusations regarding this agreement.

Moscow unilaterally abandoned the protocol in July, with President Vladimir Putin stating that "of the 32.8 million tons exported from Ukraine, more than 70% ended up in rich countries, mainly in the European Union", with the neediest countries receiving only 3% of the grain that left Ukrainian ports, or "less than a million tons".

"We have to recognize that when we have a large quantity of cereals introduced into the global market, this lowers prices and when prices go down, everyone benefits. When this is interrupted, prices go up and when they go up everyone suffers," said the UN Secretary General.

Guterres was speaking at a press conference in Jakarta ahead of the opening of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and United Nations Summit, one of the meetings that coincides with the 43rd ASEAN Summit in Jakarta. ASEAN Summit in Jakarta.

Earlier this week, Putin rejected signing a new agreement for the transportation of grain across the Black Sea until the West met Moscow's demands.

At a press conference, Putin accused the West of continuing to "block Russian demands" on the agreement. "They refuse to lift sanctions on the export of our grain and fertilizers, to resume supplies of agricultural machinery and spare parts," he explained after talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in southern Russia.

Along with the UN, Erdogan was one of the mediators of the original agreement, known as the Black Sea Initiative and signed in the summer of 2022 in Istanbul, which allowed Ukraine to export its grain production safely.

At the time it suspended its participation in the agreement, Moscow agreed to return to the understanding if the reintegration of its agricultural bank, Rosselkhozbank, into the SWIFT international banking system, the lifting of sanctions on spare parts for agricultural machinery, the unblocking of transport logistics and insurance and the unfreezing of assets were contemplated.

The Russian side also demanded the resumption of the Togliatti-Odessa pipeline, intended for the export of ammonia, an essential component for fertilizers.

Ukraine and Russia are among the world's largest grain producers and global supplies were seriously affected by the war between the two countries in February last year, with an impact on food security in the most vulnerable countries and an escalation in commodity prices.

Since the end of the agreement, Russia has been intensively bombing ports and grain silos in southern Ukraine, while Kiev has been looking for alternative export routes.