Russia remains ready to supply grain to needy countries free of charge, according to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.
This statement came during Peskov’s daily briefing on Tuesday in response to a question about Moscow’s position on supporting countries in need, whether Russia is prepared to provide free assistance to those countries, and the possibility of replacing Ukrainian grain supplies, as mentioned earlier by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Peskov mentioned that the poorest African countries received the least amount of grain deals. However, Russia is still willing to replace Ukrainian grain supplies to needy countries free of charge, even after withdrawing from the grain deal.
The Kremlin spokesperson stated that the issue of grain supplies from Russia to Africa will be discussed at the Russia-Africa Summit, scheduled to be held in St. Petersburg at the end of this July. He emphasized that Russia is in contact with its African partners, and these communications will continue.
Peskov further confirmed that the European Union acted shamelessly and without conscience by refusing to fulfill the terms of the grain deal.
Russian President Putin has repeatedly stated that under the grain deal, most of the Ukrainian grain went, contrary to the agreement, to the affluent countries within the EU, while Ukraine receives its foreign currency profits from these sales, and none of these shipments reach African countries.
Statistics indicate that since the beginning of the grain deal, a total of 32.8 million tons of grain have been transported. The European Union received 12.37 million tons, Asian countries received 10.93 million tons, the Middle East received 5.14 million tons, North Africa received only 3.24 million tons, while Equatorial Africa received 0.78 million tons, and Eastern Europe received 0.36 million tons.
