Letter from the grain broker of the UN Secretary General to Putin
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has sent a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin containing proposals to “improve, extend and broaden the scope” of the Black Sea grain corridor deal.
The UN and Turkey are among the negotiators of the deal, which lifted the Russian blockade of some ports in Ukraine, one of the world’s top grain exporters, thereby lowering world food prices.
Russia has said it will not extend the agreement, which was signed in July last year and expires on May 18, unless its demands for its own grain and fertilizer exports are accepted.
According to statements by UN spokesman Farhan Haq yesterday, Guterres asked Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during their talks in New York to forward the letter containing the proposal to Putin. Stating that Guterres also took into account Russia’s concerns regarding its own grain and fertilizer exports, Haq said: “Guterres presented a detailed report on progress so far and stressed that the UN will continue to work to resolve the remaining issues. ”.
According to the news from the TASS news agency, Lavrov stated that Moscow will examine the letter.
Haq stated that “the views of the parties and the risks posed by the global food crisis were taken into account in the letter,” adding that similar letters were also sent to Ukraine and Turkey.
The UN also signed a separate three-year agreement in July last year to persuade Russia to accept the Black Sea grain corridor. This agreement stipulated UN support for Russia to export food and fertilizer.
TURKISH BANKS UN RECOMMENDATION
The UN stated that there are still some obstacles before this agreement can enter into force, especially those related to payment systems.
Russia’s demands include the return of the Russian Agricultural Bank to the SWIFT banking system. The banks of Russia, which occupied Ukraine, were withdrawn from the SWIFT system under the sanctions of Western countries.
Russia’s other demands include resuming the supply of agricultural machinery and spare parts, lifting restrictions on insurance and reinsurance, access to ports, reopening the Togliatti-Odessa ammonia pipeline, and unlocking the assets and accounts of Russian companies engaged in the export of food and fertilizers.
Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu claimed that Guterres offered Turkish banks to make payments to Russia late last month, but that Turkey demanded a guarantee not to impose sanctions on its banks in this case. Çavuşoğlu said that the Turkish Banking Association (TBB) is working on a possible solution. (Reuters)