FILE PHOTO-Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov speaks during the annual end-of-year news conference of Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Russia December 19, 2019.
Sputnik/Alexei Nikolsky/Kremlin via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSept 9 (Reuters) - Russia said on Saturday it was sticking to its conditions for a return to the Black Sea grain deal which it quit in July.
In particular, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia needed its state agricultural bank - and not a subsidiary of the bank, as proposed by the United Nations - to be reconnected to the international SWIFT bank payments system.
The Black Sea deal was brokered by Turkey and the United Nations in July 2022 to enable Ukraine to export grain by sea despite the war and help ease a global food crisis.
Since quitting the grain deal, Russia has repeatedly bombed Ukrainian ports and grain stores, prompting Kyiv and the West to accuse it of using food as a weapon.
Persons:
Dmitry Peskov, Vladimir Putin, Alexei Nikolsky, Peskov, Tayyip Erdogan, SWIFT, Mark Trevelyan, Ros Russell
Organizations:
Sputnik, REUTERS, Kremlin, United Nations, SWIFT, Reuters, Thomson
Locations:
Moscow, Russia, Kremlin, Turkey, Ukraine, Africa, Europe, SWIFT, Luxembourg