kyiv: In order to discuss security in the Black Sea, specifically the operation of a corridor for Ukrainian grain exports, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that he had requested the head of NATO to call a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council.

This week, Russia announced its withdrawal from the UN-backed grain corridor agreement, claiming that Western nations had disregarded its demands to ensure Moscow's exports of food and fertilizer. Ships bound for Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea, according to Russia, may be considered military targets.

Zelensky stated in his nightly video address that he had asked NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to convene the council during a phone call. The council was established at this month's NATO summit.

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The NATO-Ukraine Council is a new, higher level of our cooperation, and it has the potential to make a difference, according to Zelensky.

"I suggested to Jens that the council meet right away to hold pertinent crisis consultations. In the upcoming days, the meeting will happen. The Black Sea security crisis can be resolved.

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No immediate indication was given as to whether NATO had accepted the proposal.

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The increase in grain prices since Russia withdrew from the agreement, according to the UN's chief of humanitarian affairs, "potentially threatens hunger and worse for millions of people."