The head of the European Council criticized Russia’s plans to supply grain to Africa

Russia’s proposal to supply 1 million tons of grain to Africa is “cynical,” European Council President Charles Michel said ahead of the G20 summit in New Delhi. His speech published on the website of the European Council.

Previously Russia and Türkiye Deal on the supply of 1 million tons of grain to African countries at a preferential price with financial support from Qatar. This initiative was made by Russian President Vladimir Putin. It was reported that the grain will be processed at Turkish enterprises and sent to countries most in need.

Michel said more than 250 million people around the world face acute food shortages and called for safe passage through the Black Sea for grain ships.

“On the initiative of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, between 30 and 32 million tons were supplied to markets, especially developing countries. Therefore, the Kremlin’s proposal to supply 1 million tons of grain to Africa is absolutely cynical. For our part, the EU is stepping up efforts to provide alternative export routes through our solidarity channels, which have so far delivered 41 million tons of grain,” Michel said.

The grain deal was concluded by representatives of Turkey and the UN, on the one hand, and representatives of Russia and Ukraine, on the other, on July 22, 2022. As part of the negotiations, Moscow and Kyiv signed two agreements. The first is for the export of Ukrainian grain from the ports of Odessa, Yuzhny and Chernomorsk, the second is for assistance in the export of Russian grain and fertilizers. On July 17, Russia left the Black Sea initiative, since the second part of the agreement remained unfulfilled by the decision of Western countries.

On September 4, Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held talks in Sochi. The Russian president noted that Moscow would be ready to consider the possibility of resuscitating the deal “as soon as all the agreements contained in it on lifting restrictions on the export of Russian agricultural products are fully implemented.”

On July 27, at the plenary session of the Russia-Africa forum, Putin statedthat Moscow will provide Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia, the Central African Republic, and Eritrea with 25,000–50,000 tons of grain free of charge in the next few months. Delivery of products will also be free, he noted.

In August, as part of a video address to participants in the BRICS Business Forum in South Africa, Putin recalled that 32.8 million tons of cargo were exported from Ukraine as part of the so-called grain deal. More than 70% of them came from high- and upper-middle-income countries, and only 3% came from least developed countries.