UN looking for ways for Russian banks to conduct payments as part of grain deal

NEW YORK, UN. May 2 (Interfax) - Secretary General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development Rebeca Grynspan is working on a solution enabling Russian banks to conduct transactions as part of the grain deal, Farhan Haq, spokesperson for the United Nations secretary-general, said on Tuesday.

"Rebeca Grynspan and her team have been working on [...] trying to find solutions that allow Russian banks, including the Russian Agricultural Bank, to conduct payments and transactions," he said.

Last week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is making efforts to implement the Russian part of the Black Sea grain deal, but results are practically non-existent so far.

Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said later that the message sent by Guterres to Russian President Vladimir Putin contained reasoning in favor of the Black Sea Grain Initiative's implementation; however, the prospects of its extension remain in question.

The grain deal was signed in Istanbul on July 22, 2022. The UN, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine signed two documents to open a grain corridor from three Ukrainian ports - Chernomorsk, Odessa and Yuzhny - and to enable Russian food and fertilizer exports.