Photo credit: 1tv.ru
Washington is putting pressure on African leaders, trying to force them to abstain from attending the Russia-Africa summit, TASS reports. The US wants Africans to oppose Moscow's decision to pull out of the grain deal, the Financial Times reports, citing African officials.
It is noted that the behavior of the overseas power is of great concern to African countries, as they want to interact with all parties.
Russia walked out of the grain deal on July, 17, when the Black Sea agreements expired. This means the withdrawal of guarantees for the safety of navigation, the curtailment of the maritime humanitarian corridor, the restoration of the regime of a temporarily dangerous area in the northwestern Black Sea and the disbandment of the Joint Coordination Center in Istanbul.
Earlier, Vladimir Putin said that the grain deal was aimed at helping starving countries with food. This goal remained unfulfilled, he added. There are still obstacles to the export of Russian food and fertilizers.
The Russian Foreign Ministry, in turn, assured that Moscow would make every effort so that Africa would not feel the consequences of the termination of the grain deal. Deputy head of department Sergei Vershinin noted that Russia understands the concern of African friends. He promised that these concerns would certainly be taken into account. The issue will be raised during the Russia-Africa summit, the Russian Foreign Ministry added.
The 2nd Russia-Africa summit will be held on July, 27-28 in St. Petersburg. Its business program covers all areas of interaction between Russia and the countries of the continent.
Russkiy Mir
