United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has proposed to Russian President Vladimir Putin that he extend the Black Sea grain deal in exchange for connecting a subsidiary of Russia’s agricultural bank (Rosselkhozbank) to the SWIFT international payment system, sources told Reuters. Rosselkhozbank was cut off from SWIFT by the European Union in June 2022. However, the EU is considering connecting a subsidiary of Rosselkhozbank to SWIFT to allow only grain and fertilizer transactions, three sources familiar with discussions told Reuters.
Guterres has proposed to Putin that Russia allow the Black Sea grain deal to continue for several months, giving the EU time to connect the subsidiary to SWIFT, two sources said.
“The objective is to remove hurdles affecting financial transactions through the Russian Agricultural Bank, a major concern expressed by the Russian Federation, and simultaneously allow for the continued flow of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said, without providing any details of the reported proposal. For more global and domestic policy news, start a Pro Farmer trial.
