2023-07-20 22:13:53
The UN “strongly” condemned this Thursday the russian attacks against the port of Odesa and other Ukrainian infrastructure in the Black Sea. The secretary general of the organization, Antonio Guterresemphasized that the destruction of civilian infrastructure could constitute “a violation of international law humanitarian”.
The sentence came after Russia intensify the attacks against different Ukrainian regions starting last Tuesday, one day after withdrawing from the agreement -mediated by the UN and Turkey- that allowed the export of grain from Ukrainian ports. The attacks have been especially intense in Odessathe main port on the Black Sea, strategic for food trade and formerly an important structure used also by China to import Ukrainian steel.
In this scenario, Guterres recalled that any bombardment in this area of Ukraine also has an impact beyond this Slavic country. “We are already seeing the negative effect on world prices of wheat and corn, which affects everyone, but especially the vulnerable people in the global south“, detailed the UN official.
frictions and hopes
Despite the situation, Guterres did not completely close the door on finding a solution to resume Russian and Ukrainian exports of grain and fertilizers, which are essential to mitigate food prices and prevent the collapse of agriculture in dependent countries. “The Secretary General will not give up on his efforts,” said UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric.
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Guterres’s words, of course symbolic and diplomatic meaningit has not been a surprise, although until the last moment both kyiv and Moscow kept high-voltage rhetoric. Moscow threatened to consider all Ukrainian ships war targets, and kyiv announced that it would maintain a similar behavior with Russian ships. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also said that the latest shelling has damaged 60,000 tons of goods going to China. The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has not denied that exports can resumealthough, he has said, only when the Russian conditions will be met.
In another section, Russia’s withdrawal from the grain agreement has also caused friction with Russia within African countries. Even the African Union (AU) has expressed his discomfort. “I regret the suspension of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, for which the African Union had been a staunch supporter“, the president of the AU Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, said on his official Twitter account on Tuesday. For his part, Guterres plans to participate in a summit on food next week in Rome.
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