Russia Promises Free Grain at Africa Summit

Following his withdrawal from the grain export agreement with Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday offered free grain to six African nations as he convened a conference with the continent's leaders.

Putin's popularity in Africa, where he continues to enjoy support despite the isolation he has suffered internationally since his military involvement in Ukraine in 2022, will be tested at the two-day summit in his native Saint Petersburg.

Last week, Russia declined to renew an agreement that allowed Ukrainian grain shipments to go via the Black Sea to reach markets worldwide, including Africa, relieving pressure on food prices.

During the summit's keynote speech, Putin said that Russia could "substitute Ukrainian grain" and made a commitment to deliver food to six African nations.

"In the coming months we will be able to ensure free supplies of 25,000 to 50,000 tonnes of grain to Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia, Central African Republic and Eritrea," Putin said.

The grain agreement allowed some 33 million tonnes of grain to leave Ukrainian ports over the course of a year, which helped to stabilize world food prices and prevent shortages.

Attacks on the southern Odesa area, which is home to Ukraine's ports and where the Russian army claims it damaged military installations, have increased since the ceasefire was suspended.

Nataliya Gumenyuk, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian armed forces, said that Russia has established a blockade on "virtually all" of Ukraine's ports "to close Ukraine as a country that can feed the world."

Gumenyuk warned that Ukraine "may not have ports anymore" in two to three months and emphasized the urgent necessity for Western air defense to defend grain facilities from attacks.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken pressed African leaders attending the summit to demand answers about the grain disruptions that have propelled poorer nations towards crisis.

"They know exactly who's to blame for this current situation," Blinken said of the leaders.

"My expectation would be that Russia will hear this clearly from our African partners," he said Thursday during a visit to New Zealand.

Seventeen African leaders including South African President Cyril Ramaphosa were expected at the Russia-Africa summit taking place until Friday.

The Kremlin has accused Western countries of trying to prevent African states from participating at the summit, the second of its kind.

On Friday, Putin is set to discuss Ukraine during a working lunch with a group of African heads of state, according to the Kremlin.

The situation in Niger, where President Mohamed Bazoum has been detained by soldiers following a coup bid, is "actively" discussed on the sidelines of the summit, the Kremlin spokesman said.

Russia urged the "rapid release of President Bazoum by the military" in a statement from foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

Putin held talks Wednesday with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, praising their joint energy projects.

Putin also chaired a working breakfast with heads of African regional organisations, and bilateral talks including with Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Putin gifted Mnangagwa a helicopter, and wished him success in the upcoming elections that analysts expect to be tense.

On the sidelines of the summit, Putin said "fighting has intensified significantly" in the southern Zaporizhzhia region.

Since launching its offensive in Ukraine, Moscow has sought to strengthen ties with Africa by emphasising Russia's stand against Western "imperialism".

"The framework in which Russia and Africa interact has seriously changed" with the coronavirus pandemic and the Ukraine conflict, said Vsevolod Sviridov of the Centre for African Studies at HSE University.

"It is necessary to find common ground, to explain to each other positions on topical issues, for example, the grain deal," he told.

Russia's Wagner mercenary group has been a major player in the security sphere in Africa but its failed mutiny against Russia's military leadership last month has cast doubt on the future of the group's operations on the continent.

The summit in Saint Petersburg comes a month ahead of a summit of leaders of the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) due to take place in Johannesburg.

South Africa has said that Putin, who is the subject of an international arrest warrant for his actions in Ukraine, will not be attending in person.

Source: AFP