UN Secretary-General António Guterres is seeking support for action to ensure Russian and Belarusian fertilizers reach developing countries despite sanctions against the two countries in a bid “to stop world hunger,” according to a Politico report, citing European diplomats with knowledge of the discussions.
Guterres raised his concerns, along with highlighting the need for financial system reforms and urgent climate action, while attending a European Council summit in Brussels on March 23.
European Union (EU) Member States have been working on aligning existing sanctions against Belarus with those already imposed on Russia, but talks are stuck (GM March 17, p. 29).
Most EU countries want to counter the narrative, mainly heralded by Russia, that EU sanctions are preventing food and fertilizers from reaching food-insecure countries. A diplomat from one of the countries that back continued sanctions was cited as dismissing Guterres’ comments as “nothing to do with global food security” and “just a way to appease the UN.”
However, some EU diplomats are calling for a possible exemption for Belarusian potash, which before sanctions were imposed was the country’s number two export earner after oil.
According to the report, Lithuania’s government, backed by the other EU Baltic capitals, and Warsaw, believe that continuing to squeeze Russia and Belarus is crucial to ending the war in Ukraine.
An unnamed EU diplomat from one of the countries that back continued sanctions and cited by the report said there was no way the country will agree to deviate from sanctions on Belarusian potash, arguing that allowing Belarusian potash to flow through the EU would hand the Lukashenko regime a lifeline.
Portugal has put forward a compromise proposal that would ensure safeguards to avoid sanctions circumvention, according to the report, citing three other diplomats.
Belarus potash has been making its way to countries that are not food insecure, such as Brazil and China.
However, for some developing countries, Belarus was an important supplier. As pointed out in the report by Kenya-based Africa Fertilizer Initiative, West Africa, for example, used to get almost half of its potash from Belarus, but according to AFI is getting by.
But while potash may not have to be applied each year, it is important, Joseph Glauber, a Senior Research Fellow at the Washington, DC-based International Food Policy Research Institute told Politico, adding that if the Ukraine war drags on, “the situation could get worse, especially if supplies remain low and prices high.”
Despite Member State differences, the EU still hopes to agree to a new sanction regime on Belarus by the end of this month, according to reports.