Ukraine war: WFP chief Cindy McCain says grain deal with Russia needed to feed world

The caput of the World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that it volition beryllium hard to provender the satellite if Russia pulls retired of the Ukraine atom deal.

Cindy McCain told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme that the deal, which is owed to expire connected 18 May, indispensable beryllium renewed.

The export statement has allowed Ukraine to transport millions of tonnes of nutrient contempt the ongoing conflict.

The woody was brokered by the UN and Turkey past July.

It was agreed to assistance tackle a planetary nutrient situation aft entree to Ukraine's ports successful the Black Sea was blocked by Russian warships pursuing the penetration successful February 2022.

Ukraine is simply a large planetary exporter of sunflower, maize, wheat and barley, and much than fractional of the wheat atom procured by the WFP past twelvemonth came from there.

At the aforesaid time, the UN besides agreed to assistance Moscow facilitate its ain cultivation shipments.

"They indispensable renew the deal. We can't perchance beryllium capable to provender the portion fto unsocial the satellite unless they do," Ms McCain said.

"As you know, Ukraine utilized to beryllium beauteous overmuch the breadbasket of Europe, and present that's not happening. And we request to get the atom retired due to the fact that it's affecting different countries."

The woody is meant to beryllium extended for 120 days astatine a clip but Russia has threatened to discontinue the statement connected 18 May implicit obstacles to its atom and fertiliser exports.

Senior officials from Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the UN met successful Istanbul connected Thursday to sermon proposals to widen the deal.

The gathering appeared to extremity without Russian agreement.

The Kremlin said that Russian President Vladimir Putin could talk to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan astatine abbreviated announcement if needed regarding an hold of the deal, but nary specified plans person been announced arsenic yet.

Ms McCain said the WFP had been sourcing grains from different sources to administer to countries astir the satellite but it had not been capable to provender arsenic galore radical owed to rising costs.

She said the struggle "has managed to wholly cascade astir the satellite difficulties to beryllium capable to provender people".

Ms McCain, who took bureau past month, said she believed it would beryllium hard for Ukrainian farmers to beryllium capable to bring successful a harvest this year.

"I cognize that determination are immoderate farms that are inactive operating. But you person to remember, a ample bulk of the onshore wherever the crops were grown earlier are present mined, with onshore mines," she said.

"The instrumentality that they usage to enactment the farms are mined. This is simply a tragic situation. And if the struggle were to extremity today, we'd beryllium years being capable to wide the onshore and wide the properties to marque definite that it was harmless to works and harmless to enactment livestock on."

On whether she thought Russia would motion an hold to the Black Sea atom deal, she said: "No, I'm not, I'm not assured that they will. The things I've been proceeding is that... it's 50/50 close now.

"It worries maine precise much. And it should interest everybody other too."

She urged "every satellite leader" to assistance facilitate the renewal of the woody and extremity the conflict.

Turkey's Defence Ministry said connected Thursday that advancement had been made successful the talks connected the Black Sea atom woody and that the parties had agreed to proceed four-way method meetings.

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said aft the talks that the atom woody should beryllium extended for a longer play and expanded. He said the talks would proceed online.

Russia has issued a database of demands regarding its ain cultivation exports that it wants met earlier it agrees to an extension, including restarting a pipeline that delivers Russian ammonia to a Ukrainian Black Sea port, which the UN has been pushing for.

You tin spot the full interrogation connected Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, this Sunday, connected BBC One and iPlayer from 09:00 BST