UN chief raises concerns with Russia about Ukraine grain deal

FILE PHOTO: Commercial vessels including vessels which are part of Black Sea grain deal wait to pass the Bosphorus strait off the shores of Yenikapi during a misty morning in Istanbul, Turkey, October 31, 2022. REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has written to Russia, Ukraine and Turkey to raise concerns about the implementation of a deal that allows the safe wartime export of grain from several Ukrainian Black Sea ports, a U.N. spokesman said on Friday.

The United Nations has said no ships were inspected on Tuesday under the deal - agreed in July last year - "as the parties needed more time to reach an agreement on operational priorities." Inspections resumed on Wednesday.