BERLIN, September 8. /TASS/. The United Nations is ready to agree to all of Russia’s conditions for the resumption of the grain deal, the Bild newspaper said with reference to a confidential letter from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov dated August 28.
According to the newspaper, in the letter, which is at its disposal, Guterres invites Lavrov to "build an agreement between the UN Secretariat and Russia on the basis of four cornerstone principles," with the help of which it might be possible to "restore the Black Sea Initiative." The article notes that their "implementation will lead to the fulfillment of all requirements" previously voiced by the Russian side.
The newspaper writes, in particular, that the UN Secretary-General suggests "lifting the EU financial sanctions against Rosselkhozbank," which in June 2022 was excluded from the SWIFT system of financial transactions. A representative of the European Commission confirmed to the newspaper that a solution to that issue was currently being explored, and did not rule out the creation of a special subsidiary of Rosselkhozbank for "making payments through SWIFT in accordance with the EU sanctions on agricultural and food transactions." SWIFT told Bild that they were aware of and closely following the discussions on the grain initiative, "currently afoot at a high level."
Also, according to Bild, Guterres’ letter to Lavrov voiced the UN's readiness "to insure Russian ships against Ukrainian attacks in the Azov and Black Seas within 4-6 weeks," which, according to the UN Secretary-General, would be possible with the participation of the insurance giant Lloyd's. The UN Secretary-General also offered assistance to Russian fertilizer companies regarding the return of their frozen assets in the EU. Finally, in the letter, Guterres notes that UN representatives had already held talks with the European Commission, as well as with the authorities of Germany, Belgium, Spain and the Netherlands on reopening EU ports to Russian ships carrying food and fertilizers.
According to the newspaper, the Russian leadership is currently studying the UN proposals. A representative of the Ukrainian government told Bild that Kiev would not return to the grain agreement on such terms.
The implementation of the deal, which envisages the transportation of Ukrainian grain from Black Sea ports and the normalization of exports of Russian agricultural products and fertilizers to world markets, was terminated on July 17 due to the failure to fulfill its clauses concerning Russia. On September 4, Russian President Vladimir Putin said after talks with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan that Moscow would be ready to return to the grain deal within a few days following the moment all of the earlier promises to it were fulfilled.