At a news conference after the summit on Saturday night, Putin said ending the grain deal this month had triggered a boom in grain prices that benefited Russian companies. He added that Moscow would share part of those revenues with “the poorest nations.”
That commitment, without further details, followed Putin’s promise to start sending 25,000 to 50,000 tons of free grain to six African countries over the next three to four months, just a fraction of the 725,000 tons sent by the World Food Program. Food from the United Nations to several countries afflicted by hunger, in Africa and other regions, within the grain agreement. Russia plans to send the grain free to Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia, Eritrea and the Central African Republic.
Fewer than 20 of the continent’s 54 heads of state or government attended the Russia summit, compared with 43 who attended the previous gathering in 2019, reflecting concerns over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as Moscow seeks more allies on the continent of 1.3 billion people. Putin hailed Africa as a rising center of power and the Kremlin said “outrageous” Western pressure had deterred some countries from going.
The presidents of Egypt and South Africa made two of the clearest interventions on the need to resume the grain deal.
“We would like to see the Black Sea Initiative implemented and the Black Sea open,” said South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. “We are not here to ask for donations for the African continent.”
Putin also said Russia would discuss the African leaders’ peace proposal for Ukraine, the details of which have not been made public. But the Russian president asked “why are they asking us to stop the fire? We can’t hold the fire while we’re being attacked.”
The next significant step in peace efforts appeared to be a Ukrainian-hosted peace summit in Saudi Arabia in August. Russia is not invited.
African nations comprise the largest voting group at the United Nations and have been more divided than any other region on General Assembly resolutions criticizing Russia’s actions in Ukraine. Delegations at the St. Petersburg summit passed between arms displays, a reminder of Russia’s role as the main arms supplier to the African continent.
In his remarks on Saturday, Putin also downplayed his absence from the BRICS economic summit in South Africa next month amid controversy over an arrest warrant issued for him by the International Criminal Court. His presence there, Putin said, is “not more important than my presence here, in Russia.”
FOUNTAIN: Associated Press
