Peskov called for opening SWIFT for Rosselkhozbank, and not for its “daughter”

To resume Russia’s participation in the grain deal, it is necessary to connect to the SWIFT payment system Rosselkhozbankand not its subsidiary, said press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov.

“The President of Russia clearly stated that the conditions are well known. But the fact is that the agreements say that SWIFT should be open to Rosselkhozbank, and not to the subsidiary,” Peskov said.

According to him, it is necessary to “return to the basics, to the agreements that were originally” and which Moscow was promised to fulfill. Peskov recalled that the president had previously clearly stated that when the conditions are met, “then the deal will be resumed immediately, but not vice versa.”

The press secretary emphasized that all the conditions are “well known, they do not require any distortions or interpretations” and are “absolutely specific and implementable.” In this regard, the Russian Federation maintains its “responsible, understandable and consistent position,” he added.

The Black Sea Initiative was signed on July 22, 2022 by representatives of Turkey, the UN, Russia and Ukraine. On July 17, Russia announced its withdrawal from the grain deal. The Kremlin explained this by failure to comply with the second part of the agreement, which concerns, among other things, the lifting of restrictions on the supply of Russian products.

Plans to connect Rosselkhozbank there is no connection to the SWIFT settlement system in order to restore the grain transaction, stated previously diplomatic sources at the UN. On September 6, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported that the UN Secretary General and his experts put forward four proposals for resuming Russia’s participation in the grain deal: SWIFT for a subsidiary of Rosselkhozbank, creating an insurance platform for Russian ships, unblocking foreign assets of Russian fertilizer producing companies, and establishing access Russian ships to European ports. The UN expects guarantees from the Russian side to restore the Black Sea initiative. The ministry called these measures palliative, designed to create only the appearance of work, and not leading to the lifting of sanctions.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a joint press conference with Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan on September 4 that Russia is ready to think about reviving the grain deal, but only after fulfilling all the agreements contained in it. At the same time, Russia intends to continue exporting food and fertilizers to improve the situation in the global agricultural industry.