DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — The Latest on the World Economic Forum gathering in Davos, Switzerland:
The head of the United Nations isn’t optimistic that Russia’s war in Ukraine could end soon.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Wednesday at the World Economic Forum gathering in Davos, Switzerland, that “I do not see the end of the war in the immediate future.”
He pointed to deep historical differences between Russia and Ukraine that will make it more difficult to find a solution based on international law and that respects territorial integrity.
Guterres added that “I don’t think that we have a chance to promote or to mediate a serious negotiation to achieve peace in the short term.”
In the meantime, he said private-sector cooperation is needed to keep Ukrainian and Russian food and fertilizer exports flowing.
Both countries are major suppliers of wheat, barley and other food to developing nations where many people are struggling with hunger. A U.N.-brokered deal allows agricultural supplies — Russia is also a top global exporter of fertilizer — to leave the Black Sea region.
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Guterres says the insurance sector has helped support the movement of vessels from Ukraine and Russia, and “we need other private sector’s actors to engage, such as the banking sector, the traders and the shippers.”