The Republic of South Africa called on Russia to resume the work of the Black Sea Grain Initiative. The country’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, made such a statement at the meeting of the leaders of African countries with Putin.
“As we listened to your [Putin’s – ed.] speech today, when you were responding to some elements of our proposals, we noted the following. In particular, you were talking about grain. We proposed to implement the Black Sea Grain Initiative, talked about the need to open the Black Sea, and said that we would like the Black Sea to be open to world markets,” the President of the Republic of South Africa said.
Ramaphosa emphasized that the South African delegation did not come to Moscow to ask for “gifts for the African continent” after Putin “generously decided to give grain to some African countries free of charge.” Instead, African countries seek to restore grain supplies.
According to Daily Maverick, the Russian dictator refused Ramaphosa. On July 28, the African Union called for the immediate resumption of the UN-mediated grain agreement.
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