VIENNA, May 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres does not see the possibility of concluding peace or achieving a comprehensive ceasefire in Ukraine at the moment.
“At the present moment, there are no immediate chances of a peace agreement or immediate chances for a global ceasefire,” he told a news conference after a meeting with Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen.
Asked if he understood Russia’s endgame following talks with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on April 26, Guterres said he did not, adding that he lacked “divining capabilities”.
Countries should concentrate their diplomatic efforts on providing humanitarian aid and having civilians evacuated from the combat zones, he told reporters. It’s also necessary “to find a way” to bring “food production of Ukraine and food and fertilizer production of Russia” back to the global markets, he said.
Guterres said he is deeply concerned about hunger becoming widespread as the war in Ukraine threatens food security in different parts of the world.
Speaking alongside Austria’s chancellor and foreign minister in Vienna on Wednesday, Guterres also said talks were going on to evacuate more civilians from conflict zones in Ukraine and expressed confidence that more evacuations would happen in the future.
However, he played down the prospect of peace talks over Ukraine happening any time soon.
The war in Ukraine has sent global prices for grains, cooking oils, fuel and fertiliser soaring, with United Nations agencies warning that the price hikes will worsen a food crisis in Africa.
The Russian invasion has disrupted shipping in the Black Sea, a major route for grains and other commodities, throttling exports from Ukraine and Russia.
“I have to say that I am deeply concerned, namely with the risks of hunger becoming widespread in different parts of the world because of the dramatic food security situation we are facing because of the war in Ukraine,” Guterres said.
On the back of a visit to Moldova, a small country that has thrown its doors open to an influx of refugees from neighbouring Ukraine, Guterres urged the European Union to ramp up financial support for the government in Chisinau.
More than 450,000 refugees from Ukraine have fled into Moldova, one of Europe’s poorest countries.
Guterres previously served as UN high commissioner for refugees. He noted during his two-day visit to Moldova, where he met Moldova’s leaders, that the small nation has absorbed the most refugees proportionate to its own population of about 2.6 million people.
Speaking at an earlier event, Guterres said the time would come when there are peace negotiations over Ukraine, but he did not see that time in the immediate future.
“This war will not last forever. There will be a time when peace negotiations will take place,” Guterres said.
“I do not see that in the immediate future. But I can say one thing. We will never give up,” he added, in remarks translated into German by an official translator. — NNN-AGENCIES
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