Chairman of the African Union Azali Assoumani thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin for hosting the Second Russia-Africa Summit, calling it a success, adding that when "Russia wins, Africa wins."
"It was a success for President Putin who invited us," Assoumani noted.
The AU chief added that African countries are pleased with the results of meetings with Russian representatives at the summit.
"I believe that a success awaits us. And we are very grateful, pleased with the results of our meetings," Assoumani remarked.
The President of Comoros also said that many African states, including Comoros, could host the next Russia-Africa Summit.
Assoumani also commented on the establishment of a free trade zone in Africa, saying it would boost trade on the continent.
"Thank you very much to Russia. You are always by our side. We are creating a free trade zone in Africa," he said. "I believe this is a good model, it will help us also to go forward and develop. As chairman, I can accelerate the establishment, the development of this free trade zone," the African Union head pointed out.
Apart from that, the president pointed out that Putin showed his readiness for a dialog on Ukraine, now it is necessary to convince Kiev. In this vein, Assoumani stated that a ceasefire in Ukraine must be achieved.
Furthermore, as the AU Chief noted, African countries received confirmation at the summit that Russian grain can be supplied free of charge.
"We discussed the issue of grain, cereals, their supplies. The Russian president told us that he is ready to help even for free, there are attempts to unblock the current situation [...] The Russian president has demonstrated that he is ready to help us in the sphere of grain supplies," he said.
Prior to the summit, Vladimir Putin stated that Moscow will keep supplying grain and fertilizers to African countries in spite of sanctions.
Besides, speaking at the summit, Putin said that Russia is ready to replace Ukrainian grain and announced free deliveries of 25,000-50,000 tons of grain to a number of African countries.