The Kremlin: Russia is adhering to its conditions for returning to the grain export agreement through the Black Sea
The Kremlin responded on the European Council President Charles Michel comments regarding Russia’s withdrawal from the grain export deal, Saturday, by saying that Russia is committed to its conditions for returning to the agreement, which Russia withdrew from in July.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia in particular wants to reconnect its state agricultural bank with the global financial system for payments (SWIFT) and not a unit of the bank as proposed by the United Nations.
On Saturday, the European Union criticized Russia for underestimating the withdrawal from the grain export agreement through the Black Sea, describing the offer to export one million tons of grain to African countries as a “parody of generosity”.
Russia withdrew from the agreement in July, a year after Turkey and the United Nations brokered it, as it complained that its food and fertilizer exports faced obstacles and that Ukrainian grain didn’t reach sufficient quantities to needy countries.
From its part, Ukraine opposed the idea of easing sanctions on Russia in order to revive the agreement.
