UN chief urges Russia to revive grain deal with Ukraine, warning 'the most vulnerable' will suffer

abcnews.go.com:

The U.N. chief has urged Russia to resume the internationally brokered deal so that grain can be shipped from Ukraine's Black Sea ports during the war

ROME — The U.N. chief on Monday urged Russia to resume the internationally brokered deal so that grain can be shipped from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports, saying that otherwise, the world's most vulnerable among the hungry will suffer the worst consequences.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres made the appeal during a speech in Rome at the opening of a three-day food summit.

With the recent collapse of the Ukraine-Russia grain deal, «the most vulnerable will pay the highest price,'' Guterres said. He lamented that there are already negative effects on global wheat and corn prices.

Wheat prices have risen more than 14% since Monday, when Russia pulled out of the grain deal, and corn prices are up more than 10%.

Both Russia and Ukraine are “essential to global food security,'' the U.N. leader said. He noted that they have historically accounted for 30% of global wheat and barley exports, a fifth of all maize and more than half of all sunflower oil.

»For my part, I remain committed to facilitating unimpeded access to global markets for food products and fertilizer from both Ukraine and the Russian Federation and to deliver the food security every person deserves,'' Guterres said.

“I call on the Russian Federation to return to the implementation of the Black Sea Initiative, in line with my latest proposal," Guterres said, urging the international community to stand united to find solutions for the issue.

Russia's refusal to renew the accord triggered the deal's collapse earlier this month. It said the Black Sea Initiative would be suspended until demands to get Russian exports