World Needs Russian Grain Irrespective of Other Countries' Attitude to Moscow: WFP Head

PARIS (Sputnik) - All countries must cooperate in the implementation of the grain deal since the world needs Russian grain and fertilizers, whether other states "love or hate Russia," David Beasley, the executive director of the World Food Programme (WFP), told Sputnik.

"This deal is crucial. Everybody has to cooperate, everybody has a role to play here. I don't care whether you love or hate Russia, we need Russian grain and fertilizer around the world. Otherwise a whole world will pay a price," the WFP executive director said on the sidelines of the Paris Peace Forum.

WFP is doing everything possible to ensure that the grain deal remain in force and be extended, Beasley added.

Last week, Russia suspended its participation in the UN-mediated grain deal for several days after its ships were attacked by Ukraine in the Black Sea. Moscow returned to the deal after receiving guarantees from Kiev that it would refrain from using the grain corridor for military purposes, following mediation by Turkey and the UN.

After returning to the grain deal, the Kremlin said that Russia was still undecided about whether to extend it beyond the November 19 deadline. Moscow has repeatedly said the agreement was not effective in bringing grain and fertilizer to developing countries, while sanctions continue to hinder Russia's food exports, even though the deal was supposed to guarantee their free flow to global markets.

On October 29, Russian Agriculture Minister Dmitry Patrushev said that Russia was ready to supply up to 500,000 tonnes of grain to struggling nations at no cost in the next four months and fully replace the Ukrainian grain exports, as well as organize grain deliveries to all concerned countries at reasonable prices. Patrushev noted that Russia had already harvested 150 million tonnes of grain this year, while its export potential is estimated at over 50 million tonnes.