BRUSSELS, August 4. /TASS/. The European Union views mounting international pressure on Moscow as the only way of restoring the grain deal while meeting Russia’s conditions is not being prioritized, a diplomatic source in one of European missions in Brussels told TASS.
"The European External Action Service is proactively working with third world countries to create as tough a pressure on Russia as possible to resume the grain deal, arguing that this is necessary to reduce global food prices. The EU is not considering the issue of meeting Moscow’s requirements to relax sanctions as a matter of principle, because a unanimous decision from all EU member-countries in the EU Council is needed, which is impossible in the current conditions," the source said.
"There is a range of countries in the EU that block any attempts at even a minimal softening of sanctions against Russia," he stressed.
The EU’s position is that its sanctions "do not target Russia’s agricultural exports and on this basis, the EU is avoiding any further discussion" of the topic, including with UN representatives, the source noted.
In theory, the EU sanctions regime indeed contains a clause stipulating that supplies of Russian agricultural products remain authorized for European companies. However, in reality, the EU de-SWIFTed the banking infrastructure used by Russia for grain trading.
Furthermore, an expert from a major logistical provider in Antwerp told TASS under conditions of anonymity that EU sanctions ban a broad range of services for European insurers with respect to servicing Russian ships and ships under third country flags involved in the transport of goods from Russia.
The European External Action Service has thus far not given any formal reply to an inquiry from TASS regarding whether or not the EU is ready to meet Russia’s requirements, specifically lifting sanctions on the Russian Agricultural Bank and its subsidiaries.