Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that Moscow is just weeks away from supplying free grain to six African countries after scrapping a deal allowing Ukrainian food exports through the Black Sea.
His comments during a press conference with Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi came hours after Russian forces pounded one of Ukraine’s key grain-exporting hubs overnight with a swarm of attack drones.
Erdogan told Putin that Turkey and the United Nations had prepared new proposals aimed at addressing Russia’s problems with the deal, adding that he hoped to reach a workable solution “soon”.
But Putin reiterated that Russia would only return to the landmark accord when its demands were met and instead gave details of the plan for shipments to Africa.
“We are close to completing agreements with six African states, where we intend to supply foodstuffs for free and even carry out delivery and logistics for free,” Putin said.
“Deliveries will begin in the next couple of weeks.”
AFP
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