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☆ Russia sticks to demands on Black Sea grain deal, rejects UN bank proposal
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

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

☆ Russian Agricultural Bank could have SWIFT access within 30 days, UN tells Moscow
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration Acquire Licensing RightsSept 8 (Reuters) - A Russian Agricultural Bank subsidiary in Luxembourg could immediately apply to SWIFT to "effectively enable access" for the bank to the international payments system within 30 days, the United Nations told Russia in a letter, seen by Reuters on Friday. A key Russian demand has been the reconnection of the Russian Agricultural Bank, Rosselkhozbank, to the SWIFT international payments system. "SWIFT has already confirmed that an expedited application process could be possible, bringing the time for effective access within 30 days," Guterres wrote. Russian fertilizer companies would also have to apply to national authorities within the EU for exemptions and the U.N. would engage with the EU on those requests. "The United Nations can help clarify the authorization process for different EU ports and work with Russian counterparts on obtaining the authorizations/permits pre-departure, if required."

Persons: Dado Ruvic, SWIFT, Antonio Guterres, Sergei Lavrov, Guterres, Lavrov, Russia's, RAB, John Neal, Lloyd's, Michelle Nichols, Chizu Organizations: REUTERS, Russian Agricultural Bank, United Nations, Reuters, RSHB Capital S.A, Russian, Black Sea Initiative, Russian Foreign Ministry, UN Secretariat, SWIFT, European Union, UN, RAB, Facility, Lloyd's, RIC, European Commission, Thomson Locations: Bosnia, Herzegovina, Luxembourg, Russia, United, Moscow, Turkey, Ukraine, London, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Netherlands

☆ UN chief urges Russia to return to Black Sea deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Russia quit the agreement a week ago, saying that demands to improve its own food and fertilizer exports had not been met, and that not enough Ukraine grain had reached the poorest countries under the Black Sea deal. "With the termination of the Black Sea Initiative, the most vulnerable will pay the highest price," Guterres told the U.N. Food Systems summit in Rome on Monday. Since Russia quit the deal and began attacking Ukrainian food-exporting ports on the Black Sea and Danube river, global wheat and corn futures have risen sharply. "I call on the Russian Federation to return to the implementation of the Black Sea Initiative, in line with my latest proposal," Guterres said. The Black Sea grain deal was brokered by the U.N. and Turkey a year ago to combat a global food crisis worsened by Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Persons: Antonio Guterres, Vladimir Putin, Guterres, Putin, SWIFT, Russia's, Michelle Nichols, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: UNITED NATIONS, United Nations, Black Sea Initiative, . Food Systems, Russia's Agricultural Bank, Russian Federation, Thomson Locations: Russia, Rome, Ukrainian, Ukraine, Moscow, Turkey

☆ 'Many may die' warns UN after end of Black Sea grain deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Russia quit the Black Sea grain deal on Monday, saying that demands to improve its own food and fertilizer exports had not been met, and that not enough Ukrainian grain had reached the poorest countries. The Black Sea grain deal was brokered a year ago by the United Nations and Turkey to combat a global food crisis worsened by Russia's invasion. The impact of the grain deal in terms of provisions of Ukrainian grain to global markets is "essentially not very significant," he said. Before Russia withdrew from the Black Sea deal on Monday, the U.N. had "brokered a concrete proposal" with the European Commission to connect a Rosselkhozbank subsidiary to SWIFT. "We remain open to explore solutions with the U.N. that would contribute to the resumption of the grain deal," EU envoy to the U.N. Olof Skoog told the council.

Persons: Martin Griffiths, Mikhail Khan, Sergei Vershinin, Rosemary DiCarlo, Tayyip Erdogan, Vladimir Putin, Linda Thomas, Greenfield, Thomas, Dmitry Polyanskiy, Olof Skoog, Michelle Nichols, Sybille de La, Doina Chiacu, Conor Humphries Organizations: UNITED NATIONS, United Nations, Security, United, Security Council, U.S, Russia's Agricultural Bank, SWIFT, European Union, Russia, European Commission, Thomson Locations: Russia, Ukraine, U.S, Chicago, United Nations, Turkey, Afghanistan, Djibouti Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Moscow, Crimea, Russia's, Paris

☆ Black Sea grain deal to expire Monday if Russia quits
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Russia's February 2022 invasion and blockade of Ukraine's Black Sea ports sent global grain prices soaring. The United Nations has argued that the arrangement has benefited those states by helping lower food prices more than 20% globally. Russia has agreed three times in the past year to extend the Black Sea deal, but also briefly suspended its participation at the end of October in response to a drone attack on its fleet in Crimea. To convince Russia to agree to the Black Sea deal, a three-year deal was also struck in July 2022 under which U.N. officials agreed to help Russia get its food and fertilizer exports to foreign markets. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres made a final effort on Tuesday to convince Russian President Vladimir Putin to extend the Black Sea grain deal for several months in exchange for the EU connecting a subsidiary of Rosselkhozbank to SWIFT for grain and fertilizer transactions, sources said.

Persons: Russia's, Sergei Lavrov, James, Antonio Guterres, Vladimir Putin, Guterres, Putin, Michelle Nichols, Will Dunham Organizations: UNITED NATIONS, United, United Nations, . Security, British, Food, Russian Agricultural Bank, SWIFT, European Union, EU, JPMorgan Chase &, reassurances, U.S ., The United Nations, African Export, Import Bank, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Russia, United Nations, Turkey, Ukraine's, Britain, Afghanistan, Sudan, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Yemen, Asia, Western Europe, Africa, Eastern Europe, Crimea, Moscow, SWIFT, Rosselkhozbank

☆ A landmark agricultural deal that guarantees food security for tens of millions is set to expire on Monday as Russia debates its renewal
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-15 | by ( Amanda Macias | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The Black Sea deal has allowed Ukraine to ship more than 30 million tons of produce from three major ports, helping to bring down global food prices down after they spiked following Russia's invasion. Last week, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sent a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin outlining proposals to salvage the deal. REUTERS/Nacho Doce Nacho Doce | ReutersBefore Russian troops poured over Ukraine's borders in late February 2022, Kyiv and Moscow accounted for almost a quarter of global grain exports. Those agricultural shipments came to a halt for nearly six months until representatives from Ukraine, Russia, the U.N. and Turkey agreed to establish a humanitarian sea corridor under the Black Sea Grain Initiative. One of Moscow's top demands though is for the Russian Agricultural Bank, or Rosselkhozbank, to return to the SWIFT banking system.

Persons: Akos Stiller, Antonio Guterres, Vladimir Putin, U.N, Stephane Dujarric, Putin, Sergei Lavrov, Sean Gallup, Sergey Lavrov, Lavrov, That's, SWIFT Organizations: Bloomberg, Getty Images WASHINGTON, Kremlin, REUTERS, Reuters, Russian, Food, Sea Initiative, Russian Agricultural Bank, Society, Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication Locations: Bicske, Hungary, Ukraine, Russia, Moscow, Ukrainian, UN, Turkey, Odesa, Kyiv, Ukraine's, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Yuzhny, Moscow's

☆ UN waits for Russian answer as Black Sea grain deal deadline looms
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Guterres wrote to Putin on Tuesday asking him to extend the Black Sea deal in return for connecting a subsidiary of Russia's Agricultural Bank (Rosselkhozbank) to the international payment system SWIFT, sources told Reuters. The last ship traveling under the Black Sea deal is loading its cargo at Ukraine's Odesa port. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday pushed for Russia to extend and expand the Black Sea deal, accusing Russia of using the agreement "as a weapon" by threatening to end it. To convince Russia to agree to the Black Sea deal, a three-year memorandum of understanding was struck in July 2022 under which U.N. officials agreed to help Russia get its food and fertilizer exports to foreign markets. The EU is considering connecting a Rosselkhozbank subsidiary to SWIFT to allow for grain and fertilizer transactions, sources familiar with discussions said on Wednesday.

Persons: Antonio Guterres, Vladimir Putin, Guterres, Putin, SWIFT, We're, U.N, Stephane Dujarric, Tayyip Erdogan, Antony Blinken, Blinken, Michelle Nichols, Will Dunham Organizations: UNITED NATIONS, United Nations, Russia's Agricultural Bank, Reuters, Kremlin, TASS, U.S, Ukraine, EU, SWIFT, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Moscow, Turkey, Jakarta, EU

☆ EU helping UN, Turkey in bid to extend Black Sea grain deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

A Kremlin spokesman later said that Russia had not taken a final decision on whether to exit the grain deal. The European Commission's priority is to ensure that Ukrainian grain can reach the world market and it calls on all parties to extend the Black Sea deal, a European Union spokesperson in Brussels said on Thursday. Russia has threatened to ditch the Black Sea grain deal because several demands to dispatch its own grain and fertilizer abroad have not been met. The last ship traveling under the Black Sea agreement is currently loading its cargo at the Ukrainian port of Odesa ahead of the Monday deadline. Britain has also "worked very closely with the City of London to enable a very complex payment system" for Russian grain, Britain's U.N. ambassador, Barbara Woodward, has said.

Persons: Antonio Guterres, Vladimir Putin, SWIFT, Guterres, Putin, Ursula von der Leyen, Putin's, U.N, Barbara Woodward, Woodward, Michelle Nichols, Foo Yun Chee, Angus MacSwan, Leslie Adler Organizations: UNITED NATIONS, European Commission, United, Black, European Union, Russian Agricultural Bank, Reuters, United Nations, Kremlin, JPMorgan Chase &, reassurances, U.S ., The United Nations, African Export, Import Bank, City, Thomson Locations: United Nations, Turkey, Ukraine, Russia, Ukrainian, EU, U.N, Moscow, Brussels, Russian, Odesa, Africa, Britain, London

☆ Putin says Russia may quit Black Sea grain deal if demands not met
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MOSCOW, July 13 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday Russia was set to withdraw from a deal allowing the export of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea unless its own demands are met, reaffirming Moscow's tough stance ahead of the deal's expiry next Monday. We will immediately rejoin this deal," Putin said. A Kremlin spokesman later clarified that Russia had not taken a final decision on whether to exit the grain deal. The United Nations and Turkey brokered the Black Sea Grain Initiative with Russia and Ukraine in July 2022 to help alleviate a global food crisis that worsened after Moscow sent forces into Ukraine and blockaded Ukrainian ports. To convince Putin to agree to the deal, U.N. officials also agreed to help Russia get its food and fertilizer exports to foreign markets - something Moscow says they have failed to do.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin, Antonio Guterres, SWIFT, Gareth Jones, David Evans, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: Russia, United Nations, Kremlin, United, Reuters, European Union, Russian Agriculture Bank, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Russian, Russia, United Nations, Turkey, Ukraine, Moscow, Ukrainian

☆ UN asks Putin to extend Black Sea grain deal in return for SWIFT access -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Russia has threatened to ditch the grain deal, which expires on Monday, because several demands to dispatch its own grain and fertilizer abroad have not been met. The last two ships traveling under the Black Sea agreement are currently loading cargoes at the Ukrainian port of Odesa ahead of the deadline. A key demand by Moscow is the reconnection of the Russian agricultural bank Rosselkhozbank to the SWIFT international payment network. Guterres has proposed to Putin that Russia allow the Black Sea grain deal to continue for several months, giving the EU time to connect a Rosselkhozbank subsidiary to SWIFT, two of those sources familiar with discussions told Reuters. The United Nations and Turkey brokered the Black Sea Grain Initiative with Russia and Ukraine in July 2022 to help alleviate a global food crisis worsened by Moscow's invasion and blockade of Ukrainian ports.

Persons: Antonio Guterres, Vladimir Putin, Guterres, Putin, SWIFT, U.N, Stephane Dujarric, JPM.N, Michelle Nichols, Kanishka Singh, Mark Heinrich, Diane Craft Organizations: UNITED NATIONS, Reuters, European Union, European Commission, EU, Russian Agricultural Bank, Russian Federation, Kremlin, United, JPMorgan Chase, reassurances, U.S ., The United Nations, African Export, Import Bank, Thomson Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Russia, Odesa, Moscow, EU, SWIFT, Rosselkhozbank, United Nations, Turkey, Ukrainian, Africa

☆ Russia rejects bank compromise as Black Sea grain expiry looms
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

With 13 days remaining until expiry of the deal that has allowed Ukraine to export grain from its Black Sea ports despite Russia's invasion, Moscow said there had been no progress on any of its key demands, including the banking issue. She also rejected a U.N. attempt to create an alternative payment channel between Rosselkhozbank and U.S. bank JP Morgan (JPM.N). Russia says the severing of the bank's access to SWIFT is one of the obstacles facing its own exports of food and fertiliser, and that it cannot keep renewing the Black Sea deal unless those issues are addressed. The United Nations says the deal has so far allowed the export of more than 32 million metric tons of food from three Ukrainian Black Sea ports to 45 countries on three continents. Its foreign ministry said the Black Sea initiative had delivered Ukrainian grain to "well-fed" countries but failed to help those that needed it most in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Persons: Maria Zakharova, JP Morgan, SWIFT, Zakharova, Felix Light, Mark Trevelyan, David Goodman Organizations: Financial Times, European Union, Foreign Ministry, SWIFT, United Nations, Thomson Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, Rosselkhozbank, Africa, Asia, Latin America, Ethiopia, Yemen, Afghanistan, Sudan, Somalia

☆ Russia's envoy: No grounds to maintain grain deal status quo
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

July 3 (Reuters) - Russia's envoy to the United Nations in Geneva said there were no grounds to maintain the "status quo" of the Black Sea grain deal that is set to expire on July 18, the Russian news outlet Izvestia reported on Monday. In a wide ranging interview, envoy Gennady Gatilov told the outlet that the implementation of Russia's conditions for the extensions of the agreement was "stalling." "However, what we are seeing now does not give us grounds to agree to maintaining the status quo." Last week, the United Nations said it was concerned no new ships had been registered under the Black Sea deal since June 26 - despite applications being made by 29 vessels. The New Start Treaty, signed in 2010 is due to expire in 2026.

Persons: Gennady Gatilov, Gatilov, Izvestia, Vladimir Putin, Lidia Kelly, Lincoln Organizations: United Nations, Russian Agricultural Bank, United, Washington, Thomson Locations: Geneva, Russian, Russia, Ukraine, United Nations, Turkey, United States, Moscow, Washington, Izvestia Russia, Kyiv, Melbourne

☆ Kremlin: "Not too many hopes" for Black Sea grain deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MOSCOW, July 3 (Reuters) - Russia is pessimistic about the prospects of renewing the Black Sea grain deal because no progress has been made in implementing accompanying agreements that pertain to Russian exports, the Kremlin said on Monday. The deal, under which Russia has guaranteed the safety of grain ships heading to and from Ukrainian ports through waters it controls, is set to expire on July 18 and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a briefing there were "not too many hopes" it would be extended. To fulfil the memorandum, Russia says several conditions must be met, including the readmission of the Russian Agricultural Bank (Rosselkhozbank) to the Belgian-based international banking payment system, SWIFT. Asked to comment on the FT report, Peskov said: "So far we have nothing to report on the implementation of that part of the agreement that concerned the Russian side. Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Kevin Liffey Editing by Andrew OsbornOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Dmitry Peskov, SWIFT, Peskov, Rosselkhozbank, Kevin Liffey, Andrew Osborn Organizations: Kremlin, Financial Times, European Union, Russian Agricultural Bank, Russia, United Nations, EU, Reuters, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Russia, Moscow, Ukrainian, Belgian, Russian

☆ Explainer: What is Russia's problem with the Black Sea grain deal?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Putin said he would discuss the future of the grain deal with visiting African leaders on Saturday. THE PACKAGE DEALThe United Nations and Turkey brokered the Black Sea Grain Initiative last July to help tackle a global food crisis worsened by Moscow's invasion of Ukraine and blockade of its Black Sea ports. Under the Black Sea grain deal, more than 625,000 tonnes of grain has so far been shipped by the WFP for aid operations in Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Yemen. Until the ammonia pipeline is restarted, Moscow has said it will limit the number of vessels allowed to travel to Pivdennyi port under the Black Sea grain deal. RUSSIAN GRAIN, FERTILIZER EXPORTSWhile exports of Russian wheat and some fertilisers have risen since the war, exports of Russian ammonia and potassium-based fertilizers have plummeted.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin, Stephane Dujarric, Linda Thomas, Greenfield, JPM.N, Daniel Wallis Organizations: United, United Nations, Food Programme, The United Nations, Democratic, Agricultural Bank, European Union, EU, JPMorgan Chase, reassurances, U.S ., African Export, Import Bank, Reuters, U.S . Department of Agriculture, Thomson Locations: Russia, Moscow, United Nations, Turkey, Ukraine, Africa, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Kenya, United States, America, SWIFT, Russia's Togliatti, Ukraine's, Ukrainian, Ukraine's Kharkiv, East

☆ Russia says it sees 'no prospects' for further grain deal renewal
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 5 (Reuters) - Russia's foreign ministry said on Monday that it saw no prospects for extending the Black Sea grain export deal, which is set to expire in mid-July, Russian news agencies reported. TASS news agency quoted the ministry as saying that it was continuing consultations with the United Nations, and that ship inspections had resumed. To help convince Russia to back the deal, a three-year pact was also struck last July in which the U.N. agreed to help Moscow carry out its food and fertiliser shipments. Russia has repeatedly threatened to quit the deal, complaining that obstacles still remain to its own exports of food and fertiliser. The agreement last came up for renewal on May 18 and Russia agreed at that point to extend it for 60 more days, to July 17.

Persons: Mark Trevelyan, Kevin Liffey Organizations: TASS, United Nations, RIA, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Russia, Geneva, Turkey, Ukraine, Moscow, Ukrainian, Pivdennyi

☆ UN concerned by lack of grain ships going to one Ukrainian port
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The Black Sea grain deal - brokered by the U.N. and Turkey last July - allows for the safe export of ammonia and Russia has been pushing for the pipeline to be restarted. Russia agreed last week for the Black Sea pact to be extended for two months. The Black Sea grain deal ground to a halt last week as Russia decided whether to continue it. He noted that no fertilizers, including ammonia, had yet been exported under the Black Sea agreement. The Kremlin said on Monday that the EU's reluctance to reconnect Russia's state agricultural bank to SWIFT showed the bloc's "non-constructive stance" on the Black Sea grain deal.

Vladyslav Vlasiuk, who advises President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's chief of staff, also urged allies not to fear that a tougher sanctions clampdown could drive some countries closer to Russia, describing such a worry as overblown. He was speaking in an interview from Kyiv as world leaders meet to discuss new sanctions measures and how to prevent Russia and companies in third countries from circumventing sanctions imposed after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine last year. “We are grateful for all the support we have received from our allies and we have seen some positive signals on the latest sanctions packages under consideration," Vlasiuk said. Tinkoff and Rosselkhozbank have already been excluded from the SWIFT global payments system, but other banks have been subjected to full blocking sanctions. “Russian banks who provide financial services to Russian soldiers fighting an unlawful war of aggression on Ukrainian soil should face the toughest possible sanctions from our allies," Vlasiuk said.

☆ Factbox: What are the deals on Ukraine, Russia grain exports?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

UKRAINE BLACK SEA GRAIN EXPORT DEALBrokered by the United Nations and Turkey, the deal has so far allowed Ukraine to safely export more than 30 million tonnes of grain from several of its Black Sea ports. Under the deal:- Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations set up a Joint Coordination Centre (JCC) in Istanbul, staffed by officials from each party. - Ukraine can safely export grain and related foodstuffs and fertilizers, including ammonia, from the ports of Odesa, Chernomorsk and Yuzhny. Under the memorandum of understanding:- Russia agreed to continue commercial supplies of food and fertilizers and inform the U.N. of any impediments to such exports, including fertilizer raw materials like ammonia. Russia agreed to facilitate the unimpeded export of food, sunflower oil and fertilizers from Ukrainian-controlled Black Sea ports.

☆ Russia demands full implementation of Black Sea grain deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MOSCOW, April 27 (Reuters) - Only its full implementation can save the Black Sea grain deal from collapse, Russia's foreign ministry said on Thursday, reaffirming Moscow's dissatisfaction with an accord that aims to prevent a global food crisis. The deal, brokered by the United Nations and Turkey last July, allows Ukrainian grain trapped by the conflict to be safely exported from the country's Black Sea ports. But Russia has repeatedly said it will not allow the deal to be extended beyond May 18 unless the West removes obstacles to Russian grain and fertiliser exports. Russia and Ukraine are major grain producers, but Moscow says parts of the deal that are meant to allow it to export its own agricultural goods via the Black Sea are not being honoured. One of Russia's main demands in negotiations is the reconnection of the Russian Agricultural Bank (Rosselkhozbank) to the SWIFT payments system.

UNITED NATIONS – The basic food security of tens of millions across the globe is hanging by a thread as Russia mulls whether it will preserve a deal that has permitted Ukrainian grain to move through the Black Sea. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday renewed threats of abandoning the Black Sea Grain Initiative, an agreement that allows the safe wartime export of agricultural products from besieged Ukrainian ports. Lavrov also said that the deal is currently one-sided since Russian fertilizers have not been able to transit the same way Ukrainian grain has. "It was not called the grain deal it was called the Black Sea Initiative and in the text itself the agreement stated that this applies to the expansion of opportunities to export grain and fertilizer," Lavrov told reporters during a press conference. Lavrov said there are dozens of Russian cargo vessels carrying some 200,000 tons of fertilizer stuck at European ports.

☆ What are the deals on Ukraine, Russia grain exports?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

UKRAINE BLACK SEA GRAIN EXPORT DEALBrokered by the United Nations and Turkey, the deal has so far allowed Ukraine to safely export more than 27 million tonnes of grain from several of its Black Sea ports. Under the deal:- Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations set up a Joint Coordination Centre in Istanbul, staffed by officials from each party. - Ukraine can safely export grain and related foodstuffs and fertilizers, including ammonia, from the ports of Odesa, Chernomorsk and Yuzhny. DEAL TO PROMOTE RUSSIAN FOOD AND FERTILIZER EXPORTSTo help persuade Russia to allow Ukraine to resume its Black Sea grain exports last year, a separate three-year agreement was also struck in July last year in which the United Nations agreed to help Russia with its food and fertilizer exports. The United States has pushed back on Moscow's demands, saying "the only prohibitions on food and fertilizer exports from Russia are those imposed by the government" of Russia.

Under the pact to create a safe shipping channel, Ukraine has been able to export some 27.7 million tonnes of agricultural products, including 13.9 million tonnes of corn and 7.5 million tonnes of wheat. The leading destinations have been China (6.3 million tonnes), Spain (4.8 million) and Turkey (3 million). Ukraine's grain exports are forecast to fall in the 2023/24 season after the war has meant farmers planted less corn and wheat. The International Grains Council has forecast that Ukraine's corn crop will fall to 21 million tonnes, down from the prior season's 27 million, with exports expected to drop to 15 million tonnes from 20.5 million. CAN UKRAINE EXPORT MORE GRAIN THROUGH LAND ROUTES?

Summary Russia to West: remove obstacles to agricultural exportsLavrov: West should take UN proposals seriouslyLavrov: Ukraine may have to use land/rivers for exportsLavrov: Russia may work around Black Sea grain dealMOSCOW, April 7 (Reuters) - Russia warned the West on Friday that unless obstacles to its exports of grain and fertilisers were removed, then Ukraine would have to export grain over land and Moscow would work outside the UN-brokered landmark grain export deal. The Black Sea grain deal is an attempt by the United Nations to ease a food crisis that predated the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but was made worse by the most deadly war in Europe since World War Two. The deal, first signed by Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the UN in July last year and twice extended, allows for the export of food and fertiliser, including ammonia from Ukraine's Black Sea ports of Odesa, Chornomorsk, Yuzhny/Pivdennyi. If the West continued to refuse to remove the obstacles to Russian exports, Moscow would work around the grain deal, Lavrov said beside his Turkish counterpart at a news conference in Ankara. Since its signing, the 120-day grain deal has been extended twice, once in November and a second time in March, though Russia said the March extension was only for 60 days.

All 23 analysts and economists polled by Reuters on Monday predicted that Russia would keep its benchmark rate unchanged (RUCBIR=ECI) again on Friday. There is no intrigue surrounding Friday's rate decision, said Dmitry Polevoy, head of investment at Locko Invest. "The 7.5% rate is unlikely to be changed and the neutral signal maintained," he said. Annual inflation slowed to 11.98% in November, partly due to the strong rouble and weak demand. "Inflation is slowing down now, but not sharply," said Andrei Dyuryagin, investments director at MKB Investments.

☆ EXCLUSIVE Russia seeks sanctions exemptions for state bank in Ukraine grain deal talks-sources
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

This would allow the bank, which has not had a major role in the international grain trade so far, to process payments for Russian grain and other foodstuffs, two of the sources added. Before the latest sanctions, such payments were handled by international banks and subsidiaries of other Russian banks in Switzerland. The U.N. has said it "remains committed to removing the remaining obstacles to the exports of Russian food and fertilizer". BANK'S ROLE MAY EXPANDMoscow has said its consent to extend the Black Sea grain deal depends on support for its own grain and fertiliser exports. Should Russia's request be granted, Rosselkhozbank's role in Russia's grain trade could expand significantly.

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