UN, Russian officials meet in Geneva to discuss Black Sea grain deal

GENEVA, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- A high-level delegation from the Russian Federation has arrived in Geneva to discuss the future of the Black Sea Grain Initiative with UN officials, a UN source said Friday.

This initiative allows for the export of Ukrainian grain and other agricultural products from Black Sea ports and is set to expire on Nov. 19.

The Secretary-General of the UN Conference on Trade and Development, Rebeca Grynspan, and the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, are meeting with the Russian delegation led by Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Vershinin.

"They will continue ongoing consultations in support of the efforts by the Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on the full implementation of the two agreements signed on July 22 in Istanbul," said Alessandra Velluci, head of the UN's information service in Geneva.

It is hoped that the discussions will advance progress made in facilitating the unimpeded export of food and fertilizers originating from the Russian Federation to global markets, she added.

The UN has recently urged parties to continue exerting full and good faith in the implementation of the initiative, and to facilitate the timely, safe and unimpeded movement of vessels, which are considered a critical supply line for delivering food to the world.

Along with the Black Sea Grain Initiative, there was a concurrent agreement on facilitating the export of Russian food products and fertilizer. Moscow has repeatedly complained about a lack of progress concerning Russian exports.