Moscow Not Resuming Grain Deal Despite African Appeal (Worthy News Radio)

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

KYIV/MOSCOW/ (Worthy News) – Pope Francis appealed Sunday for a resumption of the grain deal as African leaders left two days of meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin, where they urged him to continue the agreement amid rising food prices and food shortages.

Yet, the summit delegates failed to make Russia resume the Black Sea Grain Initiative that kept grain flowing from Ukraine, one of the world’s breadbaskets, and to find a path to end the war there.

“I appeal to my brothers, the authorities of the Russian Federation, that the Black Sea Initiative may be restored and grain may be transported safely,” the pope said Sunday, watched by thousands of pilgrims in Vatican City.

The Pope stressed that grain is God’s gift to feed humanity, and the war destruction that threatens it is a grave offense to God.
“The cry of millions of brothers and sisters who suffer hunger rises to Heaven.”

Speaking after a summit with African leaders, Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged that Moscow’s termination of the grain deal earlier this month caused a rise in grain prices that benefits Russian companies.

But he added that Moscow would share some of those revenues with the “poorest nations.”

That announcement follows Putin’s promise to start shipping some grain for free to African nations. “We will be prepared to provide Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia, the Central African Republic, and Eritrea with 25,000 to 50,000 tons of grain free of charge in the next three or four months,” President Putin said. “We will also provide free delivery of these products to consumers.”

SMALL AMOUNT

But that amount was dwarfed by the 725,000 tons shipped by the United Nations World Food Program to several hungry countries.

And United Nations secretary general Antonio Guterres expressed concerns about global food security. “The Russian Federation and Ukraine are both essential to global food security. They have historically accounted for roughly 30 percent of global wheat and barley exports, a fifth of all maize, and more than half of all sand flower oil,” he noticed.

“For my part, I remain committed to facilitating any access to global markets for food products and fertilizers from both Ukraine and the Russian Federation and to deliver the food security that every person deserves,” Guterres added.

“I call on the Russian Federation to return to the implementation of the Black Sea [Grain] Initiative on line with my latest proposal,” he stressed.

The presidents of Egypt and South Africa were among the most outspoken African leaders attending the summit on the need to resume the grain deal.

Fewer than 20 of Africa’s 54 heads of state or government were at the Russia summit in the Russian city of St. Petersburg, while 43 attended the previous gathering in 2019.

It comes amid broader concerns over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine even as Moscow seeks more allies on the African continent of 1.3 billion people.

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