UN hails its delegates' Moscow talks over grain initiative

NEW YORK, Oct 17 (Interfax) - The talks held by a United Nations delegation in Moscow were constructive; the sides discussed the "Black Sea Grain Initiative" and the promotion of Russian ammonia on the world market, the UN Secretary-General's spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said at a briefing on Monday.

"[As to] the just concluded trip to Moscow by Rebecca Grynspan, the secretary-general of the UN Conference on Trade and Development, as well as Martin Griffiths, the UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs. [...] Both UN officials met yesterday and today jointly with Sergei Vershinin, the deputy foreign minister of the Russian Federation," Dujarric said.

"Ms. Grynspan also had positive and constructive discussions with First deputy Prime Minister of Russia Andrei Belousov, and that was on facilitating unimpeded exports of Russian grain and fertilizer to the global markets," he said.

In addition, Griffiths met with Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin to discuss "a more effective implementation of the Black Sea Grain Initiative."

"Discussions will continue. Fertilizers and raw materials required to produce fertilizers that include ammonia originating from the Russian Federation are key to worldwide agricultural production," Dujarric said.

The delegation visited Russia on October 16-17.