Russia has supplied more than 12 million tons of grain to Africa despite being under Western sanctions, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev said at a meeting with his colleagues from BRICS countries in South Africa's Johannesburg.
"I'd like to draw your attention to the fact that despite all the difficulties created by the West, over 12 million tons of grain have been sent from Russia to Africa," Patrushev noted.
Supplying Africa at All Costs
On July 24, in an article on Russian-African relations, Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed the importance of supplying African countries with wheat, barley, corn and other crops.
Putin pledged that Russia would do everything in its power to organize future deliveries of food and fertilizer to Africa.
He recalled that in 2022, Moscow exported 11.5 million tons of grain to Africa, and almost another 10 million tons in the first six months of the current year.
Grain Deal Halted
On July 18, Moscow announced its decision not to extend the Black Sea Initiative signed by Russia, Ukraine, Turkiye and the UN in Istanbul in July 2022.
The initiative consisted of two parts: the first authorized the resumption of Ukrainian grain exports via the Black Sea, while the second was intended to facilitate Russian trade in fertilizers and agricultural products, which had been disrupted by Western sanctions.
Putin recently underlined that the demands of the Russian side of the agreement had not been met, despite the efforts of the UN.