Published six conditions, in case of non-compliance with which Russia will withdraw from the grain deal

Africa promised free grain

Vladimir Putin, speaking at the Russia-Africa parliamentary conference, threatened to withdraw from the grain deal if Russia’s conditions were again ignored – the key requirements are listed in the statement of the Russian Foreign Ministry. The President promised that in this case Moscow would compensate African countries for the necessary amount of grain. And completely free.

The Russia-Africa Conference brought together heads of legislative assemblies and parliaments from the overwhelming majority of African states in the Hall of Columns in the House of Unions. On the sidelines, the guests praised the warm welcome, good living conditions and a rich cultural program. And when they went on stage, they were carried away by the memories of the Soviet Union, when the business was not limited to hospitality alone and the countries of the continent received powerful financial and logistical support from the “big brother”. The speakers urged Russian politicians to “return to the glorious traditions of cooperation” as soon as possible. “Vladimir Putin is a great statesman. We will continue to be together with Russia, and Russia should continue to provide us with support and assistance in all areas,” the representative of the Legislative Assembly of Guinea-Bissau formulated the general aspirations better than others.

Vladimir Putin, who arrived at the conference after the lunch break, did not hear the nostalgic speeches of the Africans. But I could not agree with them anyway. In his speech, the president stressed that Russia is still doing a lot for its “African friends.” “Thanks to our assistance, many industrial enterprises have been built on the continent, entire industries have been created, vital infrastructure and social facilities have been built,” the GDP listed. He recalled that Moscow had written off $20 billion of accumulated debt to African countries. And in general, “it has always given and will continue to give priority to cooperation with African states.” “It would not be an exaggeration to say that this is one of the invariable priorities of Russian foreign policy,” the president stressed.

At a new stage, Putin promised Africa not only support in the fight against neo-colonialism, which, in his opinion, continues to be the regimes of the collective West, but also advanced technologies. He announced his readiness to transfer financial settlements with African countries into national currencies. And he announced a doubling of the annual quota for the admission of African students to state-funded places in Russian universities. (Now 5 thousand representatives of African countries receive higher education at the expense of the Russian Federation.)

Putin said that Russia agreed to the grain deal with Ukraine solely in the interests of African countries. And she also agreed to prolong it for another 60 days, “guided by their needs.” However, 45% of Ukrainian grain, according to him, went to well-fed European countries, and only 3% went to starving Africa. Whereas Russia over the same period delivered 9 times more similar products to the continent – 12 million tons against 1.3 million. time to countries in Africa in particular need, to deliver there from Russia for free,” said VVP.

He explained that an exit from the deal could occur in case of non-compliance with its “package nature”. “We insist on full compliance with key Russian requirements (…). Only when our position is taken into account will a fair and comprehensive implementation of the “Black Sea initiative” be ensured,” VVP said. The statement of the Russian Foreign Ministry, released after Putin’s speech, lists 6 key positions, in case of failure to comply with which Russia will suspend its participation in the agreement after May 18, 2023. These are, in particular, the reconnection of Rosselkhozbank to SWIFT, the unblocking of foreign assets and accounts of Russian companies associated with the supply of food and fertilizers, the abolition of restrictions on insurance and reinsurance of food cargo, the resumption of supplies of foreign agricultural machinery and spare parts for it, the launch of the Togliatti– Odessa”. It should be noted that this is not the first time Moscow has put forward these demands as conditions for continuing the deal. However, earlier they were ignored by the EU without any special consequences for Ukraine.

Published in the newspaper “Moskovsky Komsomolets” No. 28993 dated March 21, 2023

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Africa promised free grain