EU, UN scramble to save Black Sea Grain Deal

The European Commission is helping the United Nations and Turkey try to extend a deal allowing the Black Sea export of Ukraine grain ahead of the deal’s possible expiration on Monday.

An EU spokesperson said on Thursday that the European Commission’s priority is to ensure that Ukrainian grain can reach the world market and it calls on all parties to extend the Black Sea deal.

“We are assisting the talks led by the U.N. and Turkey as required,” the spokesperson said. “We are of course open to explore all solutions that contribute to our objective, whilst continuing to ensure that Russia’s ability to wage war in Ukraine is hampered as much as possible.”

A key demand by Moscow is the reconnection of Rosselkhozbank to SWIFT. It was cut off by the EU in June 2022 over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The EU is considering connecting Rosselkhozbank (a subsidiary of the Russian Agricultural Bank) to the international payment network SWIFT to allow for grain and fertilizer transactions, sources familiar with discussions said.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres proposed in a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday that Moscow allow the Black Sea grain deal to continue for several months to give the EU time to connect a Rosselkhozbank subsidiary to SWIFT, two of those sources familiar with discussions told Reuters.

During a visit to Brussels on Thursday, Guterres told reporters that he had not yet received a response from Russia. He said his letter to Putin contained “concrete proposals that I hope can allow us to find a positive way forward.”

 European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen later on Thursday urged Putin to extend the deal. “The ball is in President Putin’s court and the world is watching,” she said.

According to TASS news agency, Putin said he had not seen the letter from Guterres proposing an extension of the deal, but said Russia was in contact with U.N. officials.

Russia has threatened to ditch the Black Sea grain deal because several demands to dispatch its own grain and fertilizer abroad have not been met.

“We can suspend our participation in the deal, and if everyone once again says that all the promises made to us will be fulfilled, then let them fulfill this promise. We will immediately rejoin this deal,” Putin told Russian state television.

Also Read: Ukraine Grain Deal To Consider African Nations

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he spoke with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday and that they both agreed it was “vital” to extend the Black Sea deal.

“It is very important that there be no threat to food security anywhere in the world. And Russia must clearly realise that anyone who increases the threat of famine, particularly in critical areas of Africa, terrorises the entire world with famine,” Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address.

More than 32 million tonnes of corn, wheat and other grains have been exported by Ukraine under the arrangement. Russia has complained that not enough reaches poor countries, but the U.N. argues that it has benefited those states by helping lower food prices more than 20% globally.

The U.N. and Turkey brokered the Black Sea Grain Initiative with Russia and Ukraine in July 2022 to help alleviate a global food crisis worsened by Moscow’s invasion and blockade of Ukrainian ports. Ukraine and Russia are among the world’s leading grain exporters.