NEW YORK, NEW YORK, US – The United Nations has proposed reconnecting a Russian agricultural bank to the SWIFT international payment system in exchange for Russia extending Black Sea Grain Initiative, according to a Reuters report.

Sources told Reuters that UN Secretary-General Antonia Guterres proposed that Rosselkhozbank be reconnected to the network, which was cut off by the European Union in June 2022 following Russia’s February invasion of Ukraine.

The EU is considering connecting a subsidiary of Rosselkhozbank to SWIFT to allow specifically for grain and fertilizer transactions, three sources familiar with discussions told Reuters on July 12.

The deadline for extending the Black Sea grain deal is July 18, nearly one year after the United Nations and Turkey brokered a deal between Russia and Ukraine in which Ukraine’s ports were reopened for grain shipments. For the first five months of the war, Russia blockaded the southern ports of Ukraine, which is a leading exporter of wheat, corn and sunflower oil. The blockade sent grain prices soaring and exacerbated the problem of global food insecurity.

Russia has been threatening to not extend the deal unless a series of demands, including the removal of obstacles to Russian grain and fertilizer exports, are met.