According to a U.N. spokesman, Belarus informed the organisation on Friday that it would allow the transit of grain from the Ukraine through its territory without conditions in order for it to be exported from Lithuanian ports.
Belarus, which was utilised by its partner Russia as a staging area for its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, said in June that it would let Ukrainian grain to pass through it on its way to Baltic Sea ports in exchange for Belarus being permitted to export its own commodities out of the ports. Ukraine rejected the suggestion.
Yury Ambrazevich, the deputy foreign minister of Belarus, met with Antonio Guterres, the secretary-general of the United Nations, on Friday in New York to inform him that there are no prerequisites for the transit of grain from Ukraine.
Additionally, according to a statement released by Dujarric following the meeting, Ambrazevich ‘reiterated the requests from his government to be able to export its own fertiliser products, which are currently subject to sanctions.’
Belarus, a significant producer of potash on the world stage, was subjected to severe Western sanctions in 2021–2022, which hampered its shipments of the fertiliser through the Baltic Sea ports.
The United Nations and Turkey mediated a deal with Russia and Ukraine in July to allow Russia to help Ukraine carry food and fertiliser across the Black Sea and to begin grain supplies that had been stopped since the crisis began.
The UN is still trying to get Russia to start exporting its essential fertiliser component, ammonia, through a pipeline to a Ukrainian Black Sea port.
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