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,
reports The Moscow Times.
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.”
The UN and Turkey-brokered deal, which aimed to ensure safe navigation for civilian
ships through the Black Sea,
collapsed after Russia pulled
out in July.
Tensions have built in the region since, with Russia mounting attacks on Ukrainian export
hubs and Kyiv’s forces targeting
Moscow’s naval ports and warships.
Earlier on Monday, Russia
said it destroyed four U.S.-made
Ukrainian military boats carrying troops in the Black Sea
en
route to the Crimean peninsula,
annexed by Moscow in 2014.
In Sochi, Erdogan said there
is no alternative to the original
grain deal and that Ankara
was working with the United
Nations on addressing complaints leveled by Russia, which
claims its fertilizer exports are
being hampered by Western
sanctions.
