LONDON

- The European Union is preparing at the beginning of next week to announce an easing of sanctions imposed on a number of Russian institutions linked to the food industry, as well as lifting the ban on Russian foodstuffs, especially wheat, in what appears to be acquiescence to Russian demands.

After days of negotiations over Ukrainian wheat, and providing safe passages to get it out of the ports, it seems that the European Union agreed to the Russian conditions, allowing Russian wheat to be exported to the world, if the Union wanted millions of tons of stored Russian wheat to go to its final destinations.

According to the draft European decision, which was approved by the EU ambassadors, awaiting its official adoption next Monday, there will be changes in the European sanctions network, in a way that moves away from institutions related to food, even if these institutions are closely linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

European embarrassment

Since the beginning of the negotiations between the Europeans and the Russians, with the mediation of Turkey, Moscow has known that it has a strong card and does not want to give up on it unless it has made real gains from behind it, and it is related to the Ukrainian wheat paper that has accumulated in warehouses due to Russia’s control of the strategic ports in the country.

Indeed, Russia had what it wanted, and a semi-final agreement was reached, according to which Russia and Ukraine would allow the safe passage of grain carriers through the Black Sea through a monitoring mechanism agreed upon by Kyiv and Moscow.


In return, the European Union pledged to ease the sanctions regime imposed on Russia in order to facilitate the export of Russian agricultural and food products.

Adding to the pressure on the European Union, are the sharp criticism directed by the leaders of African countries to the union, as they accused the European bloc that its sanctions on Russian wheat caused real crises in poor countries, and even the resigned Sri Lankan president pointed the finger at the collapse of his country's economy to the European sanctions that forbade His country of Russian wheat.

recognition

European Union External Affairs Commissioner Josep Borrell acknowledged that the new decision "is not about diplomatic battles but rather a decision to save the lives of tens of thousands of people whose lives are threatened by the grain crisis."

Among the institutions that benefit from the release of their assets to resume their work, given that their activities are related to the agriculture, food industry and fertilizer sector, there are "Bank of Russia", "Sofcom Bank", "Novicom Bank" and "VTB Bank", which is the second largest banking institution. In Russia.

Borrell considered a few days ago that the export of grain from Ukraine is a matter of life and death (Reuters)

The draft resolution states that the European Union "pledges to avoid all measures that would threaten food security in the world," adding that European sanctions on Russia never target "food and agricultural trade between Russia and third world countries and do not target Russian exports of wheat or Fertilisers".

The European Union is working hard to push the charge of harming agricultural trade between Russia and poor countries, stressing that it has not imposed any sanctions on wheat and fertilizer-producing institutions, but what has appeared during the past months is that the production of fertilizers and agricultural materials is closely linked to the major financial institutions in the country, which have been frozen Its origins are from the European Union, which means that there is an intertwined relationship between the financial sector and the agricultural sector.

gold ban

In exchange for easing sanctions on businesses related to food activities, European Union foreign ministers are discussing a ban on Russian gold, one of the largest since the start of Western sanctions policy on Russia.

The purpose of targeting Russian gold is because it is considered the most important source of income for Russia after energy income, and the Union believes that Russia possesses a huge stock of gold, which makes its trade generate very important income.

A draft decision to impose a ban on gold is still under study, especially with differences within the EU over the efficacy of European sanctions, and it is expected that these new sanctions will be announced in the coming days.

With this decision, the European Union will follow the example of the Group of Seven countries, especially the United States, Canada and Britain, where the West noticed an increase in gold exports to avoid Western sanctions.

The draft of the new sanctions states that "it is prohibited to buy, import or transfer gold, directly or indirectly, if the origin is Russia or the destination is Russia."

On the other hand, the decision excludes “crushed gold, gold coins and jewelry.” The United Kingdom is the first consumer of Russian gold. In 2019, Britain received about 90% of Russian gold exports.