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Russia’s agriculture minister said Moscow had started free supplies of grain to six African countries, amounting to up to 200,000 tonnes, as promised by President Vladimir Putin in July.
In a statement posted on Telegram, Dmitry Patrushev said ships bound for Burkina Faso and Somalia had already left Russian ports and additional shipments to Eritrea, Zimbabwe, Mali and the Central African Republic would soon follow.
Putin promised to deliver free grain to the six countries at a summit with African leaders in July, soon after Moscow pulled out of a deal that allowed Ukraine to ship grain from its Black Sea ports despite the war with Russia.
The deal, known as the Black Sea Grain Initiative, helped lower prices on the world market. However, Putin claims that he is failing to ensure supplies to the countries most in need.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the pledges of free grain a “handful of donations.”
Since leaving the accord, Russia has repeatedly bombed Ukrainian ports and grain warehouses, and Kiev claims hundreds of thousands of tons of grain have been destroyed.
However, Ukraine announced that it was able to send 4.4 million tons of cargo, including 3.2 million tons of grain, through a new corridor that was established in August with the help of Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey and Greece.
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2023-11-17 19:16:00
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