Putin said in a paper published on July 24 that Russia had suspended the implementation of the Black Sea Grain Export Agreement (Black Sea Initiative) because the deal had become meaningless. The photo provided was taken in St. Petersburg on the 23rd. Sputnik/Alexei Danichev/Kremlin via REUTERS (2023 Reuters)
[２４日 ロイター] – Putin said in a paper published on Thursday that Russia had suspended the implementation of the Black Sea Grain Export Agreement (Black Sea Initiative) because the deal had become meaningless.
The article, written ahead of the Russia-Africa summit scheduled for 27-28 in St. Petersburg, has been published on the website of the Russian presidential office.
In it, Mr Putin said, “The ‘crop deal’ failed to justify its humanitarian objectives and lost its continuation.”
He laid out the terms of the return to the deal last week, but did not mention humanitarian purposes.
The paper also predicted that Russia’s grain harvest this year would be at a record level, saying that it could “commercially and free-of-charge replace Ukrainian grains.”
“We will continue to work vigorously to supply grains, food and fertilizers to Africa. We attach great importance to the overall economic partnership with Africa and will continue to develop it dynamically,” he said.
Russia seeks to expand its influence in Africa against the West. Twenty-eight African countries supported a UN resolution condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last March, while 25 abstained or did not vote.
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2023-07-23 23:19:00
