The Kremlin warned today that agreements announced by Washington, including a ceasefire in the Black Sea with Ukraine, will only come into effect once Western restrictions on trade in Russian agricultural products and fertilizers are lifted.
Moscow and Washington agreed to "ensure the safety of navigation in the Black Sea, the non-use of force and the prevention of the use of commercial vessels for military purposes," the Kremlin said in a statement, a day after Russian-American talks in Saudi Arabia.
The Russian presidency stated that the US would "contribute to restoring access to the world market for Russian exports of agricultural products and fertilizers and reducing the costs of maritime insurance."
However, the Kremlin stressed that the agreements, announced earlier today by the White House, would only come into effect "after" numerous sanctions are lifted, notably those imposed on its large agricultural bank Roselhozbank, certain "producers and exporters of food products and fertilizers" and on maritime insurance costs.
The Russian presidency is also seeking the lifting of restrictions on "trade financing transactions and port services and sanctions on Russian-flagged vessels involved in the trade in food products and fertilizers."
Russia and the United States will also "work out measures" that would allow for a 30-day ceasefire in attacks on energy infrastructure in Russia and Ukraine, the Kremlin said.
The moratorium was announced last week by Russian and US presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, but was never implemented, while Kiev and Moscow accuse each other of continuing such attacks.
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