Moscow Slams Fresh UN Grain Deal Proposals as 'Another Batch of Promises'

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Turkish President Recep Erdogan informed on Tuesday that the UN has put forward a SWIFT-derived mediation mechanism for payments for Russian food exports and is also working on the issue of insurance for Russian ships.
New UN proposals aimed at resuming the Black Sea Grain Deal contain nothing new on Moscow's concerns and can't be the basis for normalizing Russia's agricultural exports, the Russian Foreign Ministry has said in a statement.
According to the ministry, such proposals include connecting Rosselkhozbank's (Russian agricultural bank) subsidiary to SWIFT, creating an insurance platform, unblocking the foreign assets of Russian fertilizer producers and establishing access of Russia's ships to European ports.
It deemed the package as only "another batch of promises," however.

The authority pointed out that Rosselkhozbank's reconnection to SWIFT has no viable alternatives, including the proposed branches and subsidiaries.

Referring to the special insurance platform for agricultural products, the Foreign Ministry said that this promise has been made to Moscow since last August, but "for unclear reasons it has not been fulfilled so far."
The ministry noted that similar issues arise with the implementation of access of Russian vessels and cargoes to foreign ports.
"The United Nations has failed to deal with the resulting sanctions obstacles (in the form of declaring the entire territory of Russia a war risk zone, as well as the inclusion of Russian transportation insurance structures and companies in sanctions lists)," the statement read.
Speaking about the unblocking of Russian fertilizer companies' foreign assets, the foreign ministry noted that the businesses are "directly offered to recognize their under-sanction status so that they can then ask for relief at their own risk."
The Russian Foreign Ministry concluded that the UN proposals do not lead to a solution to the problem, but only give the appearance of work.
"It is clear that all of these palliative measures and workarounds are designed only to create the appearance of work, but do not contribute to the real solution to the problem - the lifting of sanctions restrictions on specialized Russian economic operators," the statement stressed.
In this vein, Russia will be ready to consider the resuscitation of the grain deal only after full compliance with the requirements to remove the sanction status from Russian companies engaged in agricultural products and fertilizers, the ministry summed up.
Turkish President Erdogan said on Tuesday following the talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin that the UN is working on the issue of insurance for Russian ships and proposed a SWIFT-derived mediation mechanism to pay for Russian food. The Turkish leader added that Ankara is ready to help in processing Russian grain for further dispatch to needy countries and looks forward to joint implementation of steps to deliver food to African countries.
On July 18, the Black Sea Grain Initiative brokered with the mediation of Turkiye and the UN, which envisioned a humanitarian corridor for Ukrainian grain exports over the past year, expired since Russia did not renew its side of the deal.
An Ethiopian woman scoops up portions of wheat to be allocated to waiting families after it was distributed by the Relief Society of Tigray in the town of Agula, in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia, May 8, 2021 - Sputnik Africa, 1920, 05.09.2023
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Africa is 'Hostage' to West's 'Neglecting' Policies: Expert on Grain Deal Revival
Moscow has repeatedly pointed out that the terms of the deal regarding Russia were not met despite UN efforts because Western countries did not honor their promises.
As Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed at the recent Russia-Africa Summit, over 70% of cargos under the grain deal went to the EU, while Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia and several other countries accounted for less than 3% of total exports.
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