Russia links Black Sea truce to lifting of sanctions on Agricultural Bank

Russia has stated that a US-mediated agreement to halt military operations in the Black Sea will only take effect if specific sanctions, particularly those targeting its state-owned agricultural lender, are lifted.

The White House had earlier announced that both Russia and Ukraine had agreed to “eliminate the use of force” in the Black Sea following separate negotiations in Saudi Arabia. However, while the US pledged to assist in restoring “access to the world market” for Russian agricultural and fertilizer exports, it did not explicitly mention lifting sanctions.

The Kremlin emphasized that the truce would only be implemented after restrictions on Rosselkhozbank, Russia’s state-owned agricultural lender, and other financial institutions involved in food and fertilizer trade were removed. Additionally, Moscow demanded the reconnection of these institutions to the SWIFT international payment system, from which some Russian banks have been excluded.

Despite no direct Western sanctions on Russian agriculture, Moscow has repeatedly complained that restrictions on shipping insurance and financial transactions have hindered its exports.

Meanwhile, Russia confirmed that it had agreed to work with the US on the implementation of a 30-day energy truce announced by President Vladimir Putin last week, despite Ukraine accusing Moscow of violating it.

“Russia and the US agreed to develop measures to implement the agreements of the presidents of the two countries to ban strikes on Russian and Ukrainian energy facilities,” the Kremlin stated.

It further noted that external parties might be involved in monitoring certain aspects of any future truce.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also suggested that Türkiye and other nations could oversee some elements of the agreement.