Vladimir Putin has said the Russia intends to export free grain to Africa.
His comments were made during a press conference with Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi, hours after Russian forces pounded one of Ukraine’s key grain-exporting hubs overnight with a swarm of attack drones.
Erdogan had told Putin that Turkey and the United Nations had prepared new proposals intending to addres Russia’s problems with the deal, adding he hoped to reach a workable solution “soon”.
Putin repeated that Russia would only return to the agreement when its demands were met, and instead gave details of the plan for exports to Africa.
“We are close to completing agreements with six African states, where we intend to supply foodstuffs for free and even carry out delivery and logistics for free,” Putin said.