Putin promises African summit that Russia will make maximum efforts to avert a food crisis
Russian President Vladimir Putin has told leaders and officials from most African countries that his nation is making full efforts to avert a global food crisis despite concerns that its withdrawal from a deal allowing grain shipments from Ukraine will cause shortages and price spikes
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin told leaders and officials from most African countries on Thursday that his nation is making full efforts to avert a global food crisis despite concerns that its withdrawal from a deal allowing grain shipments from Ukraine will cause shortages and price spikes.
He spoke at the opening session of a two-day Russia-Africa summit attended by a sharply lower number of African heads of state and government compared with a previous summit in 2019.
“Our country will continue supporting needy states and regions, in particular, with its humanitarian deliveries. We seek to actively participate in building a fairer system of distribution of resources. We are taking maximum efforts to avert a global food crisis,” Putin said.
"I have already said that our country can replace Ukrainian grain, both on a commercial basis and as grant aid to the neediest African countries, more so since we expect another record harvest this year,” he said.
