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Russian President Vladimir Putin met with African Union President Macky Sall in Sochi
Photo: Mikhail Klimentyev / AP
According to the African Union (AU), Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to allow grain exports from Ukraine to Africa.
This was announced by AU President Macky Sall on Twitter after a meeting with Putin on Friday in Sochi.
Russia remains ready to ensure exports of wheat and fertilizers to the African continent.
Putin and Senegalese President Macky Sall met to discuss liberalizing all food products and lifting Russia's ban on grain exports.
According to AU commission chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat, who also attended the meeting, the suspension of the grain blockade is necessary to cushion the devastating economic and socio-economic impact of a growing food and energy crisis.
Ukraine is one of the largest grain exporters in the world.
The loss of Ukrainian grain supplies due to the war is painful for Africa in particular.
A catastrophic famine is feared on the continent because of the increased food prices.
Putin does not hold Russia responsible for the grain blockade
At top-level talks with the African Union (AU), Putin rejected Moscow's responsibility for the shortage of grain on the world market.
The crisis began before the war in Ukraine.
Russia is not preventing the export of wheat from Ukraine, he said on Russian television on Friday.
Ukraine should remove the mines off its ports on the Black Sea coast.
The Russian army will not use this for attacks, he promised.
Russia could also make available the ports of Mariupol and Beryansk on the Sea of Azov, which it controls, Putin said.
In fact, the Russian Navy is blockading the Ukrainian ports.
The Kiev leadership does not trust Moscow's promises of safe passage of ships from Ukraine through the Black Sea.
In previous statements, the Kremlin has linked an end to the grain blockade to the lifting of sanctions against Russia.
jso/dpa
