A senior U.N. official on Thursday voiced optimism that there would be a breakthrough in negotiations to ease exports of Russian fertilisers to avoid food shortages next year.

Russia has complained its concerns about fertiliser exports had not been addressed when a deal for extending a Black Sea grain export agreement was agreed in November.

Low Russian fertiliser exports remained a "major concern" to avoid food shortages next year, said the Secretary-General of the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development, Rebeca Grynspan, a key U.N. negotiator.

"I am cautiously optimistic that we can have important progress soon," she told reporters in Geneva. "We will spare no effort in trying to make this happen as we really think it is essential for avoiding a food security crisis in the world."

She declined to give further details.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has indicated that he would only back the reopening of Russian ammonia exports, used to make fertiliser, in exchange for a prisoner swap and negotiations have since focused on this.

Mirjana Spoljaric, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), said on Wednesday an all-for-all prisoner swap was a "possibility". She also warned of the prospect of "very high levels of hunger in many parts of the world" due in part to fertiliser availability.

Grynspan said she was meeting with the private sector to discuss how they can navigate sanctions which are complicating Russian fertiliser exports. "Only by incorporating the private sector can we get to the scale that the world needs to avoid a food insecurity crisis," she said.

An initial Russian fertiliser shipment is heading to Africa, she said, but other cargoes are stranded in ports in Belgium, Estonia and Latvia.

The U.N. is now working with the World Bank and World Food Programme to finalise a framework for the remaining stranded Russian fertiliser cargoes to be exported to other African countries, Grynspan said.

Inspections have taken place and consultations are ongoing with recipient countries, she added.

Source: Reuters