UN Secretary General Antonio Gutteres discussed with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky the unblocking of Ukrainian food exports through the Black Sea, which is also being negotiated with Russia. The conversation was reported by the UN.

"The secretary general spoke with Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine. They discussed the progress of negotiations aimed at the unimpeded export of Ukrainian food products through the Black Sea," the statement said.

Recall that on July 13, delegations of Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the UN came together in Istanbul for negotiations to unblock the export of Ukrainian grain by sea.

The UN said that progress had been made following four-party talks in Istanbul to resume food exports from Ukrainian ports, but it was too early to talk about the prospects for a peaceful resolution of the Russia-Ukraine war.

Russia, which invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24 on a large scale, is blocking grain exports from Ukrainian seaports. It demands the removal of some sanctions in exchange for the unblocking of exports by sea.

According to estimates of the Ukrainian authorities, we are talking about 22 million tons of grain. However, the volume may reach 60 million tons by the fall if the country continues to remain in the situation of export blocking by Russia.

Western officials accuse Moscow of using the threat of starvation as a weapon.