Russia Ends Black Sea Grain Deal, UN Secretary General: Hundreds Of Millions Starvation, Consumers Face Life Cost Crisis

Secretary General of the International Maritime Organization IMO Kitack Lim while reviewing the seeds to be exported. (Wikimedia Commons / International Maritime Organization)

JAKARTA - United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Russia's decision to suspend its participation in the Black Sea seed deal would lead to blows to people in need around the world.

"Hundress of millions of people face starvation and consumers face a global cost of living crisis. They will pay the price," Secretary General Guterres told reporters in New York, quoted by The National News July 18.

"In the end, participation in these agreements is an option," he added, but he also continued, "people who are struggling everywhere and developing countries have no other choice."

The suspension marked the end of a deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey a year ago, after more than 32 million tons of food was exported from Ukraine, with more than half shipped to developing countries, according to the Joint Coordination Center in Istanbul.

Furthermore, Secretary General Guterres also said he was "very" disappointed that the new proposal to extend the deal sent to Russian President Vladimir Putin was ignored.

He said the United Nations would not stop in efforts to enable "unobstructed access" to global markets for food and fertilizer products from Ukraine and Russia.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Russia's move to end the "unreasonable" agreement.

"This must be restored as soon as possible. And I hope every country will pay close attention to this," said Foreign Minister Blinken.

"They will see that Russia is responsible for refusing to provide food to people in dire need worldwide, contributing to rising prices as many countries continue to experience very difficult inflation."

Separately, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told reporters in New York that President Putin used "the defense as a weapon to fight the whole world in his brutal war of aggression".

"The fact that the President of Russia has announced, he is once again discontinuing the Black Sea Initiative, which carries seeds from Ukraine around the world, makes it clear it doesn't care about the weakest countries in the world," he said.

Richard Gowan, who oversees the advocacy efforts of the Crisis Group at the United Nations, told The National Russia showed a more aggressive attitude towards the world body.

During the early stages of the Ukraine conflict, Russia showed a willingness to compromise with Western countries on challenging issues within the United Nations, he said.

"It seems that Russia wants to maintain the United Nations as a platform for negotiations," said Gowan.

"However, last month, we saw Russia help Mali in expelling peacekeepers from its territory and then blocking humanitarian resolutions regarding Syria."

"Russia is increasingly underestimating the United Nations. With Ukraine continuing to launch its counter-attack, Moscow sees little reason to compromise with other international issues through the United Nations," Gowan said.