U.N. chief hopeful about talks on Ukraine, Russia grain and fertilizer exports

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday that he is in “intense contact” with Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, the United States and the European Union to try and restore Ukrainian grain shipments and revive Russian fertilizer exports.

“I am hopeful, but there is still a way to go,” he told a food security meeting at the United Nations hosted by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. “The complex security, economic and financial implications require goodwill on all sides.”

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols and Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Leslie Adler)