Russian, South African presidents discuss grain deal

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) – Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday discussed the Black Sea Grain Initiative in a phone talk with his South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa.

According to a Kremlin statement, Putin told Ramaphosa that the main purpose of the deal, namely the supply of grain to countries in need, including on the African continent, has not been realized.

Putin also pointed out that obligations stipulated in the relevant Russia-UN memorandum on the removal of obstacles to the export of Russian food and fertilizers remain unfulfilled.

Putin and Ramaphosa also discussed preparation for the Russia-Africa summit in July and BRICS (acronym for Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) meeting in August.

According to Kremlin, the two leaders agreed to continue considering the African peace initiative on Ukraine at the Russia-Africa summit.

In a separate statement, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the leaders of the African countries, who were part of the continent's peace mission that visited Ukraine and Russia in June, "will definitely have an opportunity" to talk about their initiative with Putin on the sidelines of Russia-Africa summit.