(Reuters) – Russia and the countries participating in the Russia-Africa summit this week will discuss Moscow’s sale of grain and fertilizers, Oleg Ozerov, ambassador general of the Russian foreign ministry, told the RIA news agency in a statement published on Tuesday.
Last week, Russia pulled out of a year-long Black Sea grain agreement that guaranteed safe shipments of Ukrainian grain, saying Russia’s conditions for extending the deal had been ignored.
The second Russia-Africa Summit will be held in St. Petersburg July 27-29, as Moscow and the West compete for influence in Africa.
“The creation of logistics corridors, hubs not only for food and fertilizers, but also for any other products produced by the Russian Federation – this will be one of the topics of discussion,” Ozerov told RIA.
“It seems to me that the idea of organizing corridors and creating grain spaces is promising and possible.”
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The UN-brokered grain agreement allowed Ukraine to sell grain at its Black Sea ports, without war, to ease the world food crisis. This week, President Vladimir Putin said Moscow could replace Ukraine’s food grain trade and for free.
On Monday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Russia on Monday to return to the Black Sea wheat agreement.
(Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
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