Putin wanted the summit to energise Russia's ties with Africa and enlist its support in countering what he describes as U.S. ![]() Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called a "handful of donations" - among six of the countries attending the summit.Īssoumani said this might not be enough, and what was needed was a ceasefire. On Thursday, Putin promised to deliver up to 300,000 tons of free Russian grain - which U.N. The Ukrainian Grain Association estimated in May that 4 million metric tons of Ukrainian grain had been stolen since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February last year. Russia's withdrawal and its bombardment of Ukrainian ports and grain depots have prompted accusations from Ukraine and the West that it is using food as a weapon of war, and driven the global wheat price up by some 9%. He has repeatedly said Russia quit the agreement because the deal was not getting grain to the poorest countries and the West was not keeping its side of the bargain. ![]() Putin responded by arguing, as he has in the past, that rising world food prices were a consequence of Western policy mistakes long predating the Ukraine war. AU chair Azali Assoumani said Putin had shown his readiness to talk, and "now we have to convince the other side".īut Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has rejected the idea of a ceasefire now that would leave Russia in control of nearly a fifth of his country and give its forces time to regroup after 17 grinding months of war.Īt the summit, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi urged Russia to revive the Black Sea grain deal which, until Moscow refused to renew it last week, had granted Ukraine a "safe corridor" to export grain from its seaports despite the conflict.Įgypt is a big buyer of grain via the Black Sea route, and Sisi told the summit it was "essential to reach agreement" on reviving the deal.
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