UN chief Antonio Guterres has cast doubt on the effectiveness of Russia's offer to distribute free grain to six African countries. Putin told a summit with African leaders that Russia would replace Ukrainian exports by supplying free grain to compensate for the Black Sea shipping deal that fell apart last week.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned on Thursday that a "handful of donations to some countries" won't correct the dramatic impact of the end of a deal that had allowed the safe Black Sea export of Ukraine grain for the past year.
His comments came after Russian President Vladimir Putin promised free Russian grain "to replace Ukrainian grain” to six countries in Africa.
In a keynote address at the Russia-Africa summit in Saint Petersburg on Thursday, Putin said Russia was expecting a record grain harvest, and was ready to send some free of charge to six African countries: Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Eritrea, Mali, Somalia and Zimbabwe.
Last week Russia refused to extend the UN-brokered Black Sea grain deal that had allowed Ukrainian grain to be shipped through the Black Sea to reach global markets, including Africa.
The deal allowed some 33 million tonnes of grain to leave Ukrainian ports over the past year, helping to stabilise global food prices and avert shortages.
Guterres said on Monday that a jump in world food prices from the collapse of the deal – and Russia’s bombing of the Danube river ports that Ukraine has used as a roundabout export route – was "especially devastating for vulnerable countries struggling to feed their people".
Compensation
However, Putin told the summit that the poorest countries had been "screwed over", citing that over 70 percent of Ukrainian grain exported via the deal had gone to high- or above-average-income countries, including the European Union.
Russia would therefore compensate, and "in the coming months we will be able to ensure free supplies of 25,000 to 50,000 tonnes of grain".
Since the start of the Ukraine offensive, Russia has sought to strengthen diplomatic and security ties with Africa, as it is increasingly isolated from European countries and the United States.
Putin is to discuss Ukraine during a working lunch Friday with a group of African heads of state, according to the Kremlin.
He held talks Wednesday with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, praising their joint energy projects.
(with newswires)
