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Lavrov to Sputnik: Russia to Make Burundi's Fertilizer Needs Priority in Removing Obstacles

© SputnikRussian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during a press conference after the meeting with the Burundian president
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during a press conference after the meeting with the Burundian president - Sputnik Africa, 1920, 30.05.2023
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On Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov paid his first-ever official visit to Burundi, where he discussed a wide range of issues with the country's leadership, including Burundi's Foreign Minister Albert Shingiro.
Russia will address Burundi's fertilizer needs, which is one of Moscow's top priorities, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told Sputnik Africa.
The Russian foreign minister commented on the plans to supply Russian fertilizers to the region, noting that since Burundi and other African countries urgently need them, Russia is ready to expand and continue supplies.
Lavrov stressed that last September, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia "was ready to transfer 300,000 tons of its fertilizers, illegally seized in the ports of the European Union, to African countries for free."

"The leadership of the European Union, in full compliance with colonial practices and colonial habits, blocked this initiative. It took long six months to send at least the first batch of 20,000 tons to Malawi. And, just the other day, another shipment of a comparable amount of fertilizer to Kenya took place. A similar shipment to Nigeria is planned for the near future," the diplomat said.

At the same time, Lavrov noted the "incredible efforts" of the World Food Program and the UN secretary-general to overcome the openly "Russophobic attitude" of members of the European Union, who "oppose any initiatives that in one way or another will help developing countries, if such assistance is provided by the Russian side."
"In our future work to remove these illegal obstacles put in place by the European Union, we will, as we agreed with [Burundi's] president today, take Burundi's needs into account as one of our priorities," the Russian foreign minister said.
In his response to a question from a Sputnik Africa correspondent about the previously announced Russia-Burundi roadmap on nuclear energy development, Lavrov underlined that both sides had confirmed their focus on the early completion of the intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, which also took the roadmap into account.
"The president of Burundi has confirmed his interest in using Russian technology in this area to create a relevant industry in Burundi. The signing of the agreement I mentioned and the finalization of the memorandum on training Burundian personnel in the field of peaceful nuclear energy will contribute to this," the top diplomat pointed out.
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