Grain deal for Ukraine: With this offer, the UN wants to get Putin to give in

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After the Russian termination of the agreement on the export of Ukrainian grain, UN Secretary-General António Guterres (74) wants to save the deal with concessions to Moscow. In a letter provided to the German news agency on Friday, Guterres suggested to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, 73, that Moscow could be reconnected to the international financial communications network Swift, with the creation of a subsidiary by the sanctions-based sanctioned Russian Agricultural Bank. payments.

This means that the export of fertilizers and some agricultural products from Russia can be made possible again within 30 days. The newspaper “Bild” first reported on the letter.

Measure against world hunger

In the letter, dated August 28, Guterres makes three other suggestions to make this Russian export possible. It involves insuring Russian ships for export, releasing the frozen assets of fertilizer companies in Europe and allowing Russian ships to enter European ports. The letter indirectly shows that the United Nations is cooperating with the EU to obtain these concessions.

As early as the summer, the EU was considering the possibility of tolerating Russia’s circumvention of sanctions by setting up a subsidiary. This was to convince Russia to allow the export of Ukrainian grain across the Black Sea again. The agreement, reached in the summer of 2022 and currently on hold by the Kremlin, was seen as a milestone in easing rising grain prices as millions of people faced famine.

Simultaneously with the contract, a second agreement also stipulated the export of fertilizers and food from Russia. From then on, however, Moscow complained that it could no longer export because of the sanctions. According to the UN, fertilizer is also critical to avoiding a global hunger crisis. According to the information, fertilizer prices on the world market were sometimes 250 percent higher than before the war.

“Purely humanitarian” objectives

“The United Nations is not trying to reward Russia. We try to improve food security worldwide. Our objectives are of a purely humanitarian nature,” UN circles told the German news agency. They emphasized that UN chief Guterres has always strongly condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In the past, Moscow has often described the Secretary General’s position as partisan and pro-Western.

The European Commission declined to comment on Friday on details of cooperation with the United Nations. However, a spokesman confirmed that the EU has expressed openness to Russia through the UN to find a more permanent, more constructive solution through a designated subsidiary of the Russian Agricultural Bank, allowing prompt payments in line with EU sanctions on agri-food agreements. made.

In principle, EU sanctions do not target the transport of agricultural products between Russia and third countries. For example, there are derogations to generally allow Russian ships access to EU ports if this is necessary for the purchase, import or transport of agricultural and food products. Since December 2022, there is also an exception that makes it possible to approve food and fertilizer transactions with sanctioned persons.

All of this reflects the fact that it is not EU sanctions, but Russia’s ruthless policies that endanger global food security. Another spokesperson also stressed that work is underway to develop alternative transport routes for grain from Ukraine. Russia’s goal is to replace Ukrainian products with Russian ones on the world market. (SDA)

Source: Blick