"We are totally committed to make sure that we have both the efforts to make the Black Sea Initiative be extended and the efforts to guarantee the exports of Russian food and fertilizers being successful. It is in this context that as you said I sent a letter to President Putin with some concrete proposals that I hope can allow us to find a positive way forwards," Guterres said.
The UN chief made the comment during a joint press conference with Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo in Brussels.
On Wednesday, media reported that Guterres had proposed in the letter to Putin preserving the Black Sea Initiative for few more months until the European Union manages to connect a subsidiary of the Russian Agriculture Bank to the SWIFT system.