The United States has given permission to JPMorgan Chase & Co to process payments for Rossilkhospbank, but the temporary arrangement will not replace the Russian bank’s reconnection to the SWIFT international payment system, a Russian source told Reuters, according to Agerpres.

Access to the SWIFT system is one of the main demands of Russia in the negotiations on the extension of the international agreement on the export of grain from the Black Sea ports.

Moscow has also repeatedly stated that the new agreement depends on the West removing obstacles to Russian grain and fertilizer exports.

The source, cited by Reuters and speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), a department of the US Treasury, had authorized JPMorgan to process transactions for the Russian Agricultural Bank.

“Such transactions are complex,” said a source close to the file. JPMorgan’s option was offered as an alternative to reconnecting Rosselkhozbank (known in Russia as Rosselkhozbank) to the SWIFT system, but the permission could be revoked at any time, according to the cited source.

“It cannot replace SWIFT,” the source said.

What Russia says about the “operation” of bank financing

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told a UN briefing on Tuesday that the bank had “agreed to finance the operation” but that this was not an acceptable long-term solution.

Lavrov did not disclose the name of the bank.

Another source close to the deal said the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Treasury Department asked JPMorgan to conduct a “very limited and highly controlled” trade related to agricultural exports that took place this month.

As a rule, Russia is the world’s largest exporter of wheat. Along with Ukraine, Russia is one of the world’s leading producers of agricultural products. Both countries are major players in wheat, barley, corn, rapeseed, rapeseed oil, seeds and sunflower oil markets.

In addition, Russia is also an important player in the fertilizer market. The war in Ukraine significantly changed the supply of agricultural products.

Both Ukraine and Russia say that the international agreement on the export of grain from Black Sea ports, which allows Ukraine to export its products through Black Sea ports, is in danger of breaking down.

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