The EU is considering a proposal to allow a Russian bank under sanctions to carve-out a subsidiary that would reconnect to the global financial network, as a sop to Moscow aimed at safeguarding the threatened Black Sea grain deal that allows Ukraine to export food to global markets.
The plan, which was proposed by Moscow through negotiations brokered by the UN, would allow Russian Agricultural Bank to create a subsidiary to handle payments related to grain exports, according to five people with knowledge of the discussions. The new entity would be permitted to use the global Swift financial messaging system, which was closed to the largest Russian banks following the Ukraine invasion last year.
Russia’s war in Ukraine put a stranglehold on the vast amounts of agricultural products that are exported across the Black Sea, sparking fears of a global food crisis.