Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that despite all restrictions following her invasion of Ukraine, his country had sent almost 12 million tons of grain to African countries.
Putin, who made this claim at the plenary session of the international parliamentary conference on the theme, “Russia-Africa in a multipolar world,” said, “from Aug. 1, 2022, to Sept. 20 of this year, 827 ships left Ukraine.”
He said: “Of these, only 3 million tons of grain were sent to Africa and 1.3 million to the poorest countries in Africa.
“I draw your attention to the fact that during the same time, in spite of all the restrictions on the export of Russian grain, almost 12 million tons were sent from Russia to Africa.”
If Russia decides not to renew this deal after the recent 60-day extension, then it is ready to deliver all the volume that was sent in the previous time to countries in Africa in particular need free of charge, the president added. (Sputnik)