Russian grain destined for African countries will be transported to Turkey by 40 ships from Russia's Tuapse and Novorossiysk ports, with the delivery schedule to be determined in the coming days, Turkish newspaper Sabah reported on Friday, citing sources.
Once the ships, each carrying 25,000 tonnes of grain, arrive in Turkey, the grain will be processed in private flour mills, he said.
Initially, the flour will be sent to Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia, Eritrea and the Central African Republic, the newspaper reported, as priority will be given to countries that do not have flour processing capacity. Flour will also be sent to Chad, Libya, Djibouti, Yemen and Ethiopia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, met in Sochi on September 4 for the first time in nearly 12 months. The two leaders discussed the situation surrounding the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which expired in July, as well as a number of other issues. During the meeting, Putin said that in a few weeks Russia would begin supplying grain to six African countries free of charge. Erdogan noted that Ankara was ready to assist Russia in processing the Russian grain for further shipments to countries in need, and that he hoped to take joint steps to supply food to African countries.