Senior U.N. and Russian officials met in Geneva on Wednesday to discuss Russian complaints that Western sanctions were impeding its grain and fertilizer exports despite a U.N.-brokered deal to boost Russian and Ukrainian shipments of the commodities.
Senior U.N. trade official Rebeca Grynspan met with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin for a "positive" discussion in Geneva on Wednesday, said U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric.
"The discussions are going on in a very constructive, professional level," he said. "The challenges are fairly clear, but I'm not going to get into the detail of what has been discussed around that table."
The United Nations, Turkey, Ukraine and Russia agreed on July 22 on what was described by U.N. chief Antonio Guterres as a package deal to restart Ukraine's Black Sea grain and fertilizer exports and facilitate Russian shipments.
