UN working to secure payment for supplies through transactions with Rosselkhozbank

The UN continues to work on ensuring the supply of Russian products, including through transactions with Rosselkhozbank, which are possible outside the SWIFT payment system. About it writes TASS with reference to the official representative of the Secretary General of the organization Stephane Dujarric.

“First, we will continue to do our best to secure supplies, including [операции] through Rosselkhozbank. There are opportunities to conduct these transactions outside the SWIFT system. Obviously, it would be easier under SWIFT, but we will continue to engage with all our interlocutors, including the EU, the UK, the US, Russia and others, to ensure supplies,” said Dujarric.

Earlier today, EU Foreign Service Spokesperson Peter Stano declared Izvestia that the EU does not intend to lift sanctions against Rosselkhozbank and reconnect it to SWIFT. According to him, “payment options” still exist between Russia and other countries, and EU sanctions supposedly do not concern trade in agricultural and food products.

May 17 grain deal extended for another two months. The reconnection of Rosselkhozbank to SWIFT is one of the conditions for the Russian side to continue the “grain deal”. Russia also demands the resumption of supplies of spare parts for agricultural machinery, the unblocking of transport logistics and insurance, the restoration of the Togliatti-Odessa ammonia pipeline and the unfreezing of the assets of Russian companies. Further continuation of the deal without fulfilling these conditions was called impossible by the Foreign Ministry. Earlier, commenting on Russia’s demand to connect Rosselkhozbank to SWIFT, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that various options equivalent to unblocking were being worked out. According to him, there are hopes for this.

The grain deal was concluded on July 22, 2022 by representatives of Turkey and the UN on the one hand and representatives of Russia and Ukraine on the other. Separate agreements were concluded with Moscow and Kiev: the first was for the export of Ukrainian grain from three ports, including Odessa, Yuzhny and Chernomorsk, and the second was for assistance in the export of Russian grain and fertilizers. Moscow has repeatedly noted that the second part of the deal is not being implemented.