The European Union May Restore SWIFT Transactions with a Russian Bank

The Russian newspaper "Izvestia" reported on Monday that Peter Stano, the spokesperson for foreign affairs for the European Union, stated that "the bloc may restore the SWIFT payment system for transactions with the state-owned Russian Agricultural Bank, but this will only happen after the conflict in Ukraine ends." Last week, the agreement for grain exports via the Black Sea, which guarantees safe passage for Ukrainian agricultural products, was extended for an additional two months. However, Moscow claims it wants to "see further progress in the implementation of parts of the agreement that affect it, including the return of the Russian Agricultural Bank to the SWIFT system."