Nearly 33 mln tonnes of grain, foodstuffs exported to 45 countries thanks to grain deal - Borrell

BRUSSELS. July 18 (Interfax) - The Black Sea Grain Initiative has played a crucial role in ensuring Ukraine's grain is exported to global markets, head of EU foreign policy Josep Borrell said.

"The Black Sea Grain Initiative has allowed the safe export of nearly 33 million tonnes of grain and foodstuffs to 45 countries by over one thousand vessels," Borrell said in a statement circulated in Brussels on Tuesday.

This includes 725,000 tonnes of grain shipped by vessels chartered by the World Food Program in support of its humanitarian operations in Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Somalia, and Yemen.

Together with the Solidarity Lanes, the partial reopening of Black Sea ports "has been instrumental in stabilizing and lowering unprecedented high food prices [...], bringing the Food Price Index of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization down by 23% from the peak reached in March 2022," the statement said.

The EU condemns Russia's decision to terminate the Black Sea Grain Initiative unequivocally, Borrell said. As a result of this decision, Russia "is solely responsible for disruptions of grain deliveries worldwide and fueling food price inflation globally," he said.

"The EU urges Russia to reconsider its decision and immediately resume implementation of the Black Sea Grain Initiative. The EU will spare no efforts to continue to support the timely and stable delivery of all goods, especially agricultural products to global markets through EU-Ukraine Solidarity Lanes. [...] The EU will continue to support all efforts towards the resumption of the Black Sea Grain Initiative," Borrell said.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told reporters on Monday that Russia had sent its official objections to extending the Black Sea grain deal to Ankara, Kiev and the UN.