UN officials to visit Moscow to discuss Ukraine and fertilizer exports

EDITORS NOTE: Graphic content / UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths (C) walks in the streets of Bucha on April 7, 2022 during his three-hour visit in the city that included a stop at the site of a mass grave that Ukrainians had dug near a church, a day after he visited Moscow, where he met with officials to discuss the humanitarian situation in Ukraine, more than a month into the Russian invasion. - Griffiths said that investigators would probe civilian deaths uncovered after Russian troops withdrew. Evidence of civilian killings in Bucha and other towns around Kyiv - which Ukraine has blamed on Russian troops, allegations denied by Moscow - have shocked the world and triggered calls for new sanctions on Moscow. Russia's President has denied any responsibility for civilian deaths, accusing Ukrainian authorities of "crude and cynical provocations" in Bucha. (Photo by RONALDO SCHEMIDT / AFP) (Photo by RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP via Getty Images)

The United Nations’ under secretary-general for Humanitarian Affairs plans to visit Moscow in early June to discuss the situation in Ukraine, a spokesman for the Russian mission to the UN said Wednesday, according to Russian state-run news agency TASS.

Martin Griffiths plans to visit Moscow to “continue dialogue he began during his previous visit to Moscow,” and “to discuss the entire spectrum of humanitarian assistance to Ukraine,” spokesman Fyodor Strzhizhovsky said.

Griffiths’ previous visit to Moscow last month was an attempt to facilitate a “humanitarian ceasefire,” having been charged with meeting both parties in the conflict by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Strzhizhovsky added that the Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development Rebeca Grynspan will visit Moscow to discuss the export of Russian fertilizers.

In recent months, the price of fertilizer — an essential for farmers to hit their production targets for crops — has risen due to issues with exports from Russia. Output from Europe has also declined due to the surging price of natural gas, a key ingredient in nitrogen-based fertilizers.

Norway’s Yara — one of the world’s largest fertilizer makers — has reduced export due to the surge in natural gas prices, cutting down the amount of ammonia and urea output from their plants in Italy and France.

According to TASS, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko said on Wednesday that the resolution of the food problem “requires a comprehensive approach,” calling for the lifting of sanctions on Russian exports and financial transactions.