Russia Rejects UN Bank Proposal, Stands Firm on Black Sea Grain Deal Demands

Russia has reiterated its demands for a return to the Black Sea grain deal, which it quit in July. The Kremlin insists that its state agricultural bank, Rosselkhozbank, and not its subsidiary, should be reconnected to the international SWIFT bank payments system. Russia claims that the deal has not been fulfilled and has been bombing Ukrainian ports and grain stores since quitting the agreement. The United Nations has proposed that a subsidiary of Rosselkhozbank could apply to SWIFT to enable access for the bank within 30 days, but Russia insists on the original agreement being fulfilled.