UN Secretary General writes letter to Putin with grain deal proposals

The letter deals with the issue of financial transactions through the Russian Agricultural Bank, said a representative of the UN Secretary General. Moscow called the reconnection of this bank to SWIFT a condition for extending the grain deal

UN Secretary-General António Guterres sent a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin with proposals for the implementation of the Russian part of the grain deal, Stefan Dujarric, a spokesman for the Secretary General, said. The agreement expires July 17th.

According to Dujarric, Guterres' proposals are about improving the execution of the deal in order to keep it.

“The goal is to remove obstacles affecting financial transactions through the Russian Agricultural Bank, which is of great concern to the Russian Federation, and at the same time ensure the continued flow of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea,” said the representative of the UN Secretary General (quoted by Reuters).

Guterres expressed readiness for further contacts with Moscow on this issue, Dujarric added.

Russia and Ukraine in July 2022 separately concluded an agreement with Turkey and the UN on the export of grain from the Black Sea ports. The deal has been extended several times and currently expires on July 17. Moscow has said that provisions to promote the export of Russian agricultural products and fertilizers are not being implemented. In early July, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that there were no grounds for extending the agreement.

The Russian side called the reconnection of Rosselkhozbank to SWIFT, the resumption of supplies of agricultural machinery and spare parts, the abolition of restrictions on insurance and reinsurance, and the lifting of the ban on access to ports as necessary conditions for the further execution of the deal.

In May, the European Union refused to reconnect Rosselkhozbank to SWIFT until the end of the conflict in Ukraine. The bank was disconnected from the system in June 2022 as part of Western sanctions against Russia.

In early July, The Financial Times, citing sources, wrote that the European Union was studying Moscow's proposal to create and connect a subsidiary of Rosselkhozbank to SWIFT. The idea was discussed at the EU summit in Brussels, and supporters of this scheme consider it the "least worst option" for Russia to agree to extend the grain deal.