Russia still threatens Ukrainian grain deal and lists five demands

Wheat stored at a terminal after harvest in Ukraine's Odessa region, June 23, 2022. © Igor Tkachenko/REUTERS

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Russia threatened again on Thursday (April 13th) to suspend the agreement on Ukrainian grain exports. Moscow sets five conditions, under penalty of terminating, on May 18, this agreement allowing the export of grain especially to Africa.

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On Thursday, April 13, Moscow issued a new ultimatum on the delicate subject of grain exports from Ukraine. Among its demands: the reconnection to the Swift international banking system of Rosselkhozbank, the Russian bank specializing in agriculture. The country is also calling for deliveries to Russia of agricultural machinery and spare parts to be resumed. Obstructions to insure ships and access to foreign ports must also be removed.

The Kremlin is also demanding the unfreezing of the assets of Russian companies linked to the agricultural sector located abroad. Finally, the operation of the Togliatti-Odessa pipeline must resume. This pipeline connects Russia to Ukraine and allows the delivery of ammonia, a chemical component widely used in agriculture. "Without progress to resolve these five systemic problems (...), there can be no question of evoking an extension" of the agreement on cereals, hammered the Russian diplomacy in a statement.

Concluded last July and extended on March 19, this agreement allows Ukrainian grain to be exported via the Black Sea despite the conflict. So far, more than 27 million tonnes of agricultural products have been shipped to third countries, including Africa.

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  • Russia
  • Ukraine
  • Agriculture and Fisheries
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