In an article written about the Russia-Africa Summit to be held in St. Petersburg on July 27-28, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that withdrawing from the grain agreement would not negatively affect African countries.
Putin argued that the United States and European business circles use the grain agreement to enrich themselves, and highlighted that 70% of Ukrainian grain goes to high and upper-middle-income countries, while countries like Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen, and Afghanistan receive only 3% of the Ukrainian grain within the framework of the agreement.
Emphasizing that his country was expecting a record harvest this year, Putin stated, "I want to assure that our country can replace Ukrainian grain both commercially and free of charge."
He reminded that Russia had sent 11.5 million tons of grain to Africa in 2022 and 10 million tons in the first half of 2023.
25 African countries import more than one-third of their wheat from Russia and Ukraine annually.
Facing difficult times due to rising food prices since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, African countries had initiated efforts for the two countries to make peace.
Chairperson of The African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, expressed regret over the suspension of the Black Sea Grain Corridor Agreement and called on the parties to continue the agreement.
