Russia: Conditions must be met before Black Sea ceasefire implemented

The Kremlin’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, says several vital conditions must be met before the Black Sea maritime security agreement, negotiated with the US, can be activated.

Peskov said on Wednesday that the US-brokered agreement has already overlooked Russia's needs. He insisted that "justice must prevail" this time.

The most important demand from Russia is the reconnection of its state agricultural bank (Rosselkhozbank) to the SWIFT international payments system, which requires European countries' consensus.

On Tuesday, the US said it had reached separate agreements with both Russia and Ukraine to halt hostilities in the Black Sea and to not target each other’s energy infrastructures.

In parallel statements, the White House said each country “has agreed to ensure safe navigation, eliminate the use of force and prevent the use of commercial vessels for military purposes in the Black Sea.”

Russia, Ukraine agree to Black Sea ceasefire but with caveats

The US says Ukraine and Russia have agreed to cease fighting in the Black Sea and to hash out the details for halting strikes on energy facilities.

According to the Russian document, the US would help “restore Russia’s access to the world market for agricultural and fertilizer exports, lower maritime insurance costs, and enhance access to ports and payment systems for such transactions.”

Russia’s fertilizer and food exports are not subject to US sanctions, but restrictions on insurance, logistics, and payments have fully stopped its exports.

The removal of these restrictions has been one of Russia’s conditions for a ceasefire agreement since 2022.

These are the same conditions that were included in the (original) Black Sea Initiative, all the conditions of which were fulfilled except for those concerning the Russian side, Peskov said.

“So, of course, this time justice must prevail, and we will continue our work with the Americans," Peskov added.

In 2023, Moscow withdrew from the original agreement, brokered by the United Nations and Turkey in 2022, because obstacles to its own fertilizer and food exports had not been eased as had been promised under the terms of the agreement.

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