According to a UN spokesman, a top UN official had “productive” meetings with Russia’s first deputy prime minister Andrei Belousov.

In Moscow, the two discussed ways to make it easier for Russian grain and fertilizer exports to reach global markets.

Rebecca Grynspan, a UN official, is currently in Washington, D.C., for further talks.

It comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russia has blocked the sale of 22 million tons of Ukrainian grain, adding to the world’s worsening food crisis.