Lavrov arrived at the UN headquarters on Monday, where he presides over Security Council meetings. He met with Guterres, who took note of Moscow's concerns about how the Russian part of the grain deal is being implemented. Lavrov, following a meeting with the UN Secretary General, told reporters that he had received a letter from the head of the global organization with ideas for full implementation of the deal. Guterres, as reported by the UN, informed the Russian minister about the organization's efforts to resolve the situation with the host country, including visa issues.
“There was a substantive discussion of various aspects of cooperation between Russia and the global organization [...] The focus of the discussion was the situation in Ukraine and around it. The minister reiterated in detail the root causes of the current crisis, the course and goals of the special military operation aimed at eliminating threats to Russia's national security. He severely criticized the behavior of Western states that use the UN platform to promote politicized anti-Russian initiatives that are only fraught with prolonging the current crisis," the ministry said.
Lavrov noted the US failure to fulfill its obligations, including the refusal to issue visas to Russian representatives for events held under UN auspices, illegal alienation of Russian diplomatic property and imposition of restrictions on the movement of Russian diplomats.
"A detailed exchange of views took place on a number of urgent issues under consideration by the UN Security Council, such as the situation in Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan, as well as in the Palestinian-Israeli settlement. Lavrov and Guterres agreed on the indispensable nature of the constructive interaction of all members of the Council in order to overcome these and other crisis situations," the Russian ministry said.
It said the sides paid attention to implementation of the Istanbul agreements of July 2022 on the export of Ukrainian food and ensuring unhindered access for Russian exports of agricultural products and fertilizers to the world market.
"Both sides noted the importance of further strengthening the central coordinating role of the UN in global politics and promoting true multilateralism based on fundamental international legal norms, including the goals and principles of the global organization's Charter," the ministry said.
The Black Sea Grain Initiative, signed between Russia, Turkiye, Ukraine and the United Nations amid the military conflict in Ukraine in July 2022, provides for exports of Ukrainian grain, food and fertilizers over the Black Sea from three ports, including Odesa. The package agreement also includes a memorandum of understanding between Russia and the UN to unblock Russian grain and fertilizer exports via the Black Sea, which, according to Moscow, has not been implemented amid Western sanctions. In March, Russia extended the deal for 60 of possible 120 days.