Since the end of the grain deal between Moscow and Kiev, Ukraine has no longer been able to export grain. UN Secretary General António Guterres (74) wants to save the agreement with concessions to the Kremlin. In a letter to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (73), dated August 28th, he made four suggestions with which he would go some way towards meeting Russian demands. The United Nations worked together with the EU, as the letter indirectly shows. The letter is now available from the German Press Agency. “Bild” first reported on it.
The sanctioned Russian agricultural bank could therefore set up a subsidiary and thus be reconnected to the international financial communications network Swift for certain payments. The export of fertilizers and some agricultural products from Russia should be possible again within 30 days. The subsidiary “would then take on the role of an interface without itself playing the role of a bank,” writes Guterres.
The EU Commission did not want to comment on the letter, but a spokesman confirmed: It is pursuing the idea of a subsidiary of the Russian Agricultural Bank in order to find a more permanent solution to enable Swift payments in line with EU sanctions for agricultural and food transactions .
Secondly, Russian ships should be comprehensively insured against attacks by Ukraine when exporting. “The United Nations will support the assurance to highlight the importance of Russian exports to global food security,” writes the UN Secretary General. With the help of the British ship insurer Lloyd’s, the insurance should be ready in four to six weeks.
Thirdly, frozen assets of Russian fertilizer companies in Europe should be returned. Guterres: “The United Nations can continue to help unfreeze frozen assets of Russian fertilizer companies in the European Union.”
Russia would have to “provide a list of specific accounts or assets” and “Russian fertilizer companies must apply to the relevant EU national authorities for the relevant exemptions,” it said. The UN then wants to work with the national authorities and the EU.
Fourth, Russian ships should be allowed to enter European ports again. Guterres wants to “enable effective access of Russian ships transporting food and fertilizer products to EU ports through rapid port approvals.”
The United Nations is ready to examine further options to facilitate this access. The UN officials have already “held discussions with the European Commission and selected port authorities (Germany, Belgium, Spain, Netherlands),” emphasizes the UN Secretary General.
The agreement reached in the summer of 2022 and currently suspended by the Kremlin was seen as a milestone in easing rising grain prices as millions of people face hunger. At the same time as the contract, a second agreement also decided on the export of fertilizer and food from Russia. From then on, Moscow complained that it was effectively unable to export anything because of the sanctions.
According to the UN, fertilizer is also crucial to preventing a global hunger crisis. According to the information, fertilizer prices on the world market were at times 250 percent higher than before the war.
“The United Nations is not trying to reward Russia. We are trying to improve food security worldwide. Our goals are purely humanitarian in nature,” UN circles told the German Press Agency.
2023-09-09 17:42:35
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