Russia sets conditions for return to Black Sea Grain Initiative

On September 10, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced that Russia will return to the Black Sea Grain Initiative on the day Moscow's conditions regarding the country's grain and fertilizer exports to global markets are met.

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Russia has announced that it will return to the Black Sea Grain Initiative the day Moscow's conditions are met. (Source: Financial Times)

Russia abandoned the Black Sea Grain Initiative in July, a year after reaching a deal brokered by the United Nations and Türkiye, citing obstacles to Moscow's food and fertilizer exports and insufficient Ukrainian grain to ship to countries in need.

Speaking at a press conference after attending the G20 Summit in New Delhi, India, Mr. Lavrov stated: "When all the necessary actions to remove obstacles to our grain and fertilizer exports are taken, on the same day we will return to implementing the provisions related to Ukraine in the Black Sea initiative."

In a letter seen by Reuters this week, the UN told Moscow that a branch of the Russian Agricultural Bank in Luxembourg could immediately apply to join the international payment system SWIFT, which would “effectively give the bank access to SWIFT within 30 days” – an idea Lavrov dismissed at the news conference.

"No one, including (UN Secretary General) Antonio Guterres," has promised that the Russian Agricultural Bank will be reconnected to SWIFT and that the bank's Luxembourg branch does not have a banking license and plans to close, he stressed.

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