Secretary-General António Guterres has called for wealthier countries to help developing nations purchase Ukrainian grain as supplies begin returning to global markets, in an appeal from the Black Sea port of Odesa on  World Humanitarian Day. Ships carrying grain have been leaving there under a recent UN-brokered agreement, and Mr. Guterres said Odesa was a symbol of what countries can achieve when they work together for the common good. Speaking to journalists, the UN chief revealed that it was a moving experience to be at the port, where he witnessed wheat being loaded onto a ship. 

Positive momentum on the landmark Black Sea Grain Initiative to help vulnerable people access food reflects “a victory for diplomacy” for those caught in a cost-of-living crisis as well as for Ukraine’s hard-working farmers, UN Secretary-General António Guterres told reporters in Lviv, Ukraine. Speaking at a press conference alongside Presidents Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Türkiye, he expressed gratitude for the opportunity to visit “again during such a difficult period”. 

In a visit to Mongolia, Secretary-General António Guterres underscored the UN’s full solidarity for the country, which he described as “a symbol of peace in a troubled world”. Mr. Guterres was speaking to journalists at a press conference in the capital, Ulaanbaatar, following a meeting with the Foreign Minister, Battsetseg Batmunkh. He stated that in a world with dramatic geopolitical divides, and where conflicts proliferate everywhere, Mongolia - as an area free of nuclear weapons - is an example for other countries to follow.  

It is totally unacceptable for states in possession of nuclear weapons to admit the possibility of a nuclear war, António Guterres underscored in Japan at a ceremony marking the 77th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. “Nuclear weapons are nonsense. Three-quarters of a century later, we must ask what we’ve learned from the mushroom cloud that swelled above this city in 1945”, he urged during the solemn event at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park attended by dozens of people, including hibakusha, young peace activists, Japan’s Prime Minister and other local authorities.

Secretary-General António Guterres welcomed the departure of the first ship from the Ukrainian port of Odesa, carrying grain under the landmark deal signed by Ukraine, Russia and Türkiye, overseen by the UN. The Razoni, carrying a cargo of 26,527 tonnes of corn, is the first cargo ship to leave a Ukrainian Black Sea port since 26 February, just a few days after the Russian invasion began. It is bound for the Mediterranean port of Tripoli, in Lebanon.