Zelensky calls UN Secretary-General, discusses grain corridor, peace formula
President Volodymyr Zelensky held a phone call with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, discussing Ukraine's peace formula and the new Black Sea corridor, the president said on Oct. 19.
Zelensky thanked Guterres for the work of the UN's Ukraine team in the humanitarian response and for the so-called "winterization plan." The UN pledged to deliver humanitarian assistance worth $435 million to support over 1.7 million Ukrainians in the coming winter months.
Ukraine's head of state also emphasized the importance of the UN's participation in the peace plan discussions and its support for Zelensky's peace formula.
"After the meeting of advisors in Jeddah, it is also important that the next event be no less successful and produce concrete results," the president wrote on social media.
"For this, we need to maintain the support of the countries of the Global South. Ukraine is counting on the UN for this."
Bloomberg reported that the next international peace plan meeting, following the one in Saudi Arabia in August, is expected to take place in Istanbul later in October.
Zelensky said that he and the UN Secretary-General also addressed the new Black Sea corridor, set up weeks after Russia's withdrawal from the grain deal. The UN repeatedly appealed to Moscow to unblock the shipments of Ukrainian foodstuffs to curb rising prices worldwide.
Despite the Russian-imposed blockade, all three of Ukraine's Black Sea ports in and around Odesa have resumed receiving cargo vessels for grain export earlier this month.
