Russia quit the agreement a week ago, saying that demands to improve its own food and fertilizer exports had not been met, and that not enough Ukraine grain had reached the poorest countries under the Black Sea deal.
"With the termination of the Black Sea Initiative, the most vulnerable will pay the highest price," Guterres told the U.N. Food Systems summit in Rome on Monday.
Since Russia quit the deal and began attacking Ukrainian food-exporting ports on the Black Sea and Danube river, global wheat and corn futures have risen sharply.
"I call on the Russian Federation to return to the implementation of the Black Sea Initiative, in line with my latest proposal," Guterres said.
The Black Sea grain deal was brokered by the U.N. and Turkey a year ago to combat a global food crisis worsened by Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Persons:
Antonio Guterres, Vladimir Putin, Guterres, Putin, SWIFT, Russia's, Michelle Nichols, Philippa Fletcher
Organizations:
UNITED NATIONS, United Nations, Black Sea Initiative, . Food Systems, Russia's Agricultural Bank, Russian Federation, Thomson
Locations:
Russia, Rome, Ukrainian, Ukraine, Moscow, Turkey