Russian President Vladimir Putin assured this Thursday in his meeting in St. Petersburg with African leaders that they can trust that Russia will continue to be a reliable supplier, after Moscow unilaterally withdrew from the grain export agreement between accusations against Kiev of not complying.

“In the coming months, we will be ready to provide Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia, the Central African Republic, and Eritrea with between 25,000 and 50,000 tons of grain at no cost,” Putin announced, adding that Russia has grown commercially despite of the pandemic and sanctions.

At the meeting, Putin highlighted that during the first half of this year, Russia has exported almost 10 million tons of grain to various African countries, in contrast to the 11.5 million that were shipped in all of 2022.

On the other hand, after meeting with the current head of the African Union, the president of Comoros, Azali Assoumani, Putin has stated that he will intercede so that this body can become a full member of the G20, according to the Interfax news agency.

The Russian president has stressed that his country has been one of the first countries to respond to the request of the African Union in this regard and is confident that progress can be made by the G20 summit to be held in September in New Delhi, India. On it.

“Russia is ready to do everything possible to promote the strengthening of the sovereignty of African states and to help Africa become one of the key partners in the multipolar world,” Putin said. For his part, Assoumani conveyed to the Russian president the concern of the African continent regarding the consequences that the war in Ukraine has brought with it, especially in terms of food security and rising fuel prices.