UN drafting package deal on food exports from Ukraine and Russia

NEW YORK, UN. June 9 (Interfax) - A package agreement on food exports from Ukraine and Russia to world markets is being prepared, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.

"I have asked [Secretary General of the UN Conference on Trade and Development] Rebeca Grynspan and my humanitarian chief, Martin Griffiths, to coordinate two task forces to help find a package deal that allows for the safe and secure export of Ukrainian-produced food through the Black Sea, and unimpeded access to global markets for Russian food and fertilizers," Guterres said at a briefing of the Global Crisis Response Group.

This deal is essential for hundreds of millions of people in developing countries, including in sub-Saharan Africa, he said.

At the same time, Guterres said that it is still too early to announce the results of the talks being held by Grynspan and Griffiths with Moscow, Kyiv, Ankara, Brussels and Washington.

Grynspan and Griffiths "have been working closely with all parties to move this forward," he said.