By alonso calatrava
Jul 24, 2023, 09:35 AM EDT
Russian President Vladimir Putin promised on Monday that he will continue to supply grain to African countries despite the sanctions on Moscow, due to the invasion it has maintained against Ukraine since February 2022. This decision would be a measure after the suspension of the Black Sea Agreement with Kiev, which had Turkey and the United Nations (UN) as mediators.
The Kremlin made this announcement prior to the second Russia-Africa summit, which will be held in St. Petersburg on the 27th and 28th. The adviser to the head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Daria Zarivna, stated in the second week of March that the Black Sea Agreement should have an indefinite duration, since with this agreement it feeds 400 million people around the world.
In addition, Russia has already donated several tons to countries like Kenya and South Africa as a measure of punishment for the grain export agreement, which since the beginning of this year the Moscow authorities have not been very in favor of. “We fully understand the importance of uninterrupted food supply for the socio-economic development and political stability of African states,” Putin said in a statement.
The Kremlin leader defended the decision not to prolong the grain agreement, which allowed the export of grain from Ukrainian ports across the Black Sea, because it was used “only to enrich the big American and European companies that exported and resold grain from Ukraine.”
“In almost a year (…) a total of 32.8 million tons of cargo was exported from Ukraine, more than 70% of which went to high-income and upper-middle-income countries, including the European Union, while countries like Ethiopia, Sudan and Somalia, and also Yemen and Afghanistan, received less than 3%,” he argued.
According to the United Nations Organization (UN), mediator and coordinator, together with Turkey, in this agreement, reported that the total exports by this treaty have only reached 29.8 million tons. Of this is added 595,000 tons for the World Food Program in humanitarian operations in Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya and Yemen.
For its part, the Department of Strategic Communications of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reiterated that Kiev will continue to supply grain to other countries despite the fact that Russia announced its withdrawal from the Black Sea Agreement, due to disagreements that would favor Ukraine. Moscow has warned that any ship passing through the Black Sea strait will be considered a warship.
The United Nations Organization (UN) affirmed that it will continue its efforts so that Russia agrees to extend the Black Sea Agreement to export grain from Ukraine to international markets. The agency explained that there are problems to resolve in relation to the export of Russian food and fertilizers, one of the most persistent complaints since the creation of the agreement.
With information from EFE
Keep reading:
- Putin says he will send free food to Africa if he suspends the grain deal with Ukraine
- Ukraine will maintain the supply of grain to the world after the suspension of the Black Sea Agreement
- Lavrov affirms that the next months of the Black Sea Agreement with Ukraine will be crucial