EU may lift sanctions on Russian bank to preserve grain deal - FT

The European Union is considering allowing a Russian sanctioned bank to set up a subsidiary that will be able to reconnect to the SWIFT international interbank information and payment system.

Financial Times reported this, Ukrinform says.

According to the newspaper's sources, the move is aimed at protecting the Black Sea grain deal, which is under threat from the Kremlin's ultimatums. This will allow Ukraine to export food to world markets.

The report (citing anonymous sources) says that the plan proposed by Moscow during the UN-brokered talks would allow a Russian agricultural bank to set up a subsidiary to make payments related to grain exports.

The subsidiary will be allowed to use the global Swift system, which was closed to the largest Russian banks after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The issue is complicated by the fact that Russian Agricultural Bank is fully owned by the Kremlin. Its former chairman of the board, Dmitry Patrushev, is Russian current Minister of Agriculture and the son of Nikolai Patrushev, Putin's aide and secretary of the Russian Security Council, who played an important role in fomenting the war against Ukraine.

It is noted that the Kremlin refused to comment on the EU proposal. The European Commission also declined to comment.

However, EU officials emphasized that European sanctions are not aimed at trade in agricultural and food products, including grains and fertilizers, between third countries and Russia, the publication concluded.

As Ukrinform reported, no new vessels have been allowed to join the grain deal since June 26.