Kremlin expresses limited optimism for meeting Russian demands on Black Sea grain deal

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - The Kremlin on Monday said it is not much hopeful that its demands regarding Russian exports as part of the Black Sea grain deal, set to expire later this month, will be fulfilled.

"So far, we state that this part of the agreement has not yet been fulfilled. There is still some time before the expiration of the deal, but there are not too many hopes," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in Moscow, in response to a question on whether there is hope for connecting Russia’s Agricultural Bank (Rosselkhozbank) to the SWIFT international payment system.

Peskov said the Kremlin had nothing to report concerning a story by the Financial Times earlier in the day, which claimed the EU is considering a proposal to allow Rosselkhozbank to create a subsidiary that would reconnect the bank to the SWIFT international payment system.

"No, so far we have nothing to report on the implementation of that part of the agreements that concerned the Russian side," Peskov said.

Türkiye, the UN, Russia, and Ukraine signed the agreement in Istanbul last July to resume grain exports from three Ukrainian Black Sea ports, which were halted after the Ukraine war in February last year.

The deal has been renewed several times since then, and was extended for another two months on May 18.

Moscow has linked the inclusion of its state-owned Russian Agricultural Bank in the SWIFT international payment system, which will facilitate unimpeded access of Russian fertilizer and other products to global markets, to further extend the agreement.