Russia sees no point in extending the grain agreement, rejects proposals for an alternative to SWIFT

"Russia said on Tuesday there was no reason to extend an agreement that allows Ukraine to export grain through the Black Sea, criticizing obstacles to Russia's agricultural exports.

 

"It is clear that there is no reason to continue the Black Sea Initiative, which expires on July 17," the Russian Foreign Ministry (MFA) said.

 

Russia says it has seen no progress on several of its demands, including that its state-owned agricultural bank be reconnected to the SWIFT international payments system.

 

Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told Reuters in a separate comment that proposals to establish a subsidiary of the Russian State Agricultural Bank are not good for development.

 

This is how she commented on the report of the newspaper "Financial Times" that the EU proposed that a special company of the aforementioned Russian bank could be connected to the SWIFT system, from which the bank itself is disconnected.

 

A United Nations proposal to create a dedicated communication channel between JP Morgan and the Russian State Agricultural Bank as an alternative to connecting to SWIFT was also rejected.

 

After the events in Ukraine began in February 2022, the Black Sea ports of this country were blocked by warships until conditions were created for grain transportation in accordance with the agreement signed last July.

 

A memorandum on the unhindered export of Russian food products and fertilizers was also signed in parallel.

 

Ukraine was one of the world's largest producers of grain, and the agreement helped ease a global food crisis caused by the sanctions on Russia.

 

According to the United Nations, about 32.4 million tons have been exported under this agreement so far.  Corn accounted for slightly more than half of the exports, and wheat for more than a quarter.

 

The initial 120-day agreement reached with the UN and Turkey last July was extended three times: in November, March and May.

 

"The normalization of Russian food and fertilizer supplies to the world markets, as provided for in the Russia-UN memorandum, continues to deteriorate," the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

 

According to Moscow, the problems stem from the secondary effects of Western sanctions on shipping and insurance companies and banks.

 

The Kremlin also accused Ukraine of destroying part of a pipeline through which Russia exported ammonia, one of the main ingredients in fertilizer.

 

Russia's foreign ministry also said most of Ukraine's exports go to rich countries, contradicting figures provided by the UN and Kyiv.

 

The Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine, Oleksandr Kubrakov, stated that 29 ships with 1.4 million tons of grain are blocked due to late inspections, and Russia has been blamed for this.

 

He also wrote on Twitter that Russia has stopped registering incoming ships since June 26.

 

On Tuesday, Moscow stated in its statement that it will ensure that the ships awaiting inspection will be checked by July 17, when the extension of the agreement expires."