Page 58 - bneIntelliNews monthly country report Russia May 2024

increasingly actively pursuing. Chinese and Turkish banks have already cut off ties with Russia that may affect trade. This has led companies to rely heavily on VTB Bank, the lone Russian bank with a Chinese branch, resulting in payment delays for crude and fuel exports of up to several months, Reuters reported in March.
According to preliminary estimates by the Bank of Russia, the current account surplus of Russia's balance of payments expanded significantly in March - to $13.4 billion after $5.2 billion in February.
This was mainly determined by an increase in commodity exports, including against the backdrop of rising oil prices (up to about $40 billion, close to last year’s level). The level of imports remained fairly stable, amounting to about $23 billion in March. On the financial account side, there was an increase in capital outflow in the form of an increase in foreign assets ($15.5 billion in March after $4.2 billion in February). The Bank of Russia also published data on external debt: in 1Q24 its value decreased by another $13 billion to $304 billion, the minimum since 2006 (about 15% of GDP), the share of the private sector in it decreased to 60%.
5.2 Balance of payments, current account 5.2.1 Import/export dynamics
Ukraine and Russia negotiated for two months on a deal to ensure the safety of merchant shipping in the Black Sea and reached agreement on a text in March, but Kyiv pulled out of the talks "at the last minute," Reuters reported on April 16, citing four unnamed people familiar with the matter. "At the very last minute, Ukraine suddenly pulled out, and the deal was scuttled," one of the sources said, and which was later confirmed by three other sources. The sources said to Reuters they did not know the reasons for Ukraine's alleged decision. Ukrainian officials have not commented on the reports.
The text of the draft agreement, a copy of which was seen by Reuters, said that Ukraine and Russia would reportedly provide security guarantees to merchant ships in the Black Sea, pledging not to strike, seise, or search them if they are either empty or had declared non-military cargo.
"These guarantees do not apply to warships, civilian vessels carrying military goods (with the exception of maritime transportation agreed upon by the Parties within the framework of international missions)," the agreement said.
Although Kyiv did not officially sign the document, Ukraine gave its consent for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to announce it on March 30, the sources told Reuters.
58 RUSSIA Country Report May 2024 www.intellinews.com