LONDON, July 22 (.) – The United Kingdom urged, on Friday, the immediate activation of the agreement signed between Russia and Ukraine, under the auspices of the United Nations and Turkey, to export Ukrainian grain through a sea lane, and confirmed that it would do so. “Monitor” that Moscow complied with the agreement.
The British Foreign Office welcomed the agreement in a statement, and indicated that it would allow up to five million tons of grain per month to leave Ukraine to alleviate the food crisis caused by the Russian naval blockade of Ukrainian seaports.
The resumption of exports is a “positive step to address the global food security crisis,” according to London, which claims to have promoted the UN proposal.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said: “The UK and its allies have worked hard to get to this point. Now the deal must be implemented, and we will be watching to ensure Russia’s actions live up to its words.”
For Truss, who is running to succeed Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the Conservative primary, “the barbaric invasion of Ukraine by (Russian President Vladimir) Putin means that some of the world’s most vulnerable and poorest people are in danger of having nothing to eat!”
Similarly, Truss praised the efforts of Turkey and the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, to mediate the agreement.
Until the invasion, states the State Department, Ukraine was one of the largest exporters of grain and vegetable oils, reaching 30.9% of consumption in Egypt, 11.7% in Morocco, and 7% in Bangladesh.
