South Africa’s leader urges Putin to unblock Black Sea and revive grain deal

This is mentioned in a statement by the President of South Africa, Ukrainian Pravda reports.

"At the moment when we listened to your (Putin's - ed.) speech today, when you reacted to some elements of our proposals, we noted the following. In particular, you talked about grain. We offered to implement the Black Sea Grain Initiative, we talked about the need to unlock the Black Sea, we said that we would like the Black Sea to be open to world markets," Ramaphosa said.

The South African president also said that the African leaders "did not come here to ask for any 'gifts' for the African continent."

"Of course, we understand that you have generously decided to provide free grain to some African countries that are facing certain difficulties. We have great respect for that, and we recognize it. However, it is not our main goal here, it is not our main task to achieve any supplies of this nature," Ramaphosa said.

Some details on the grain deal

The Black Sea Grain Initiative was a deal made separately between Russia and the UN, and Ukraine and the UN, with Turkey acting as a mediator. It was agreed upon in July 2022 in Istanbul and has been extended multiple times since then.

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.

To continue the agreement, Russia made certain demands, including:

• The reconnection of Russia's Agricultural Bank (Rosselkhozbank) to the international payment system SWIFT.

• The resumption of the supply of agricultural machinery, spare parts, and services.

• The lifting of restrictions on insurance and reinsurance, as well as the removal of the ban on accessing ports.

• The reopening of the ammonia pipeline Togliatti - Odesa.

• The unblocking of foreign assets and accounts of Russian companies involved in food and fertilizer production and transportation.
• On July 28, the African Union called for an end to the war in Ukraine and an immediate resumption of the UN-brokered agreement that allows Ukraine to export millions of tons of grain.

• Such harsh statements by African leaders came despite Putin's assurances that he was ready to replace Ukrainian grain and supply it to African countries free of charge.