African leaders urge Putin to reconsider ‘grain deal’ and peace plan for Ukraine

According to Reuters, President of the Republic of Congo Denis Sassou Nguesso called on Friday for an end to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, saying that a peace plan proposed by African leaders deserves attention.

"The African (peace) initiative deserves the closest attention, it mustn't be underestimated," Denis Sassou Nguesso told in St Petersburg.

Nguesso was speaking at a Russian-African forum in St. Petersburg which was organized by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who said the peace proposal would be discussed later that day.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, whose country is a key buyer of grain via the Black Sea route, called on Russia to restore the ‘grain deal’, which allowed Ukraine to export agricultural products from its seaports despite the war.

In response, Putin said that the rise in global food prices is the result of political mistakes made by the West long before the war in Ukraine.

“He says Russia quit the Black Sea agreement last week because it was not getting grain to the poorest countries and the West was not keeping its side of the bargain,” Reuters writes. 

Russia's termination of the grain deal

On July 16, the last ship loaded with Ukrainian agricultural products under the initiative left the port of Odesa. On 17 July, Russia announced the termination of the grain deal. In response, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that it was necessary to continue using the grain corridor even despite Russia's withdrawal from the agreement. And Kuleba began urgent consultations at the UN.

The White House condemned Russia's withdrawal from the grain deal, which played a crucial role in reducing global food prices.

On 18 July, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there were "certain risks" for parties trying to resume the Black Sea Grain Initiative without Russia's participation.

On 19 July, it was reported that Ukraine was considering transporting food as part of the grain initiative through the territorial waters of Bulgaria and neighboring Romania.

At the same time, the Russian Ministry of Defence issued a statement threatening ships heading to Ukraine's Black Sea ports. On the same day, Putin named the conditions for Russia's return to the grain deal and demanded their immediate implementation

Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense announced that starting July 21, all ships heading to the Black Sea in the direction of Russian seaports and Ukrainian ports in the temporarily occupied territory may be treated by Ukraine as military cargo.

On July 21, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he wanted to discuss the extension of the grain deal with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and expressed confidence that it will work again.

The same day, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed hope that Turkey will help bring Russia back to the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which it disrupted earlier in the week.