Speaking today to a business gathering, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed during their Nov. 1 phone call that Russian grain should be sent free of charge to poor countries, TASS reported. Somalia, Djibouti and Sudan would be among those receiving the free shipments, he said, because “they are suffering from serious food crises and famine.”
The Turkish leader did not offer details on the logistics of such an operation, but pointedly said that attempts by Western nations to teach the lessons of humanity while at the same time ignoring the sufferings of African nations, “is a shame.” Europe’s mentality and behavior don’t surprise him, he said, but he does not accept them.
Putin and Erdogan also agreed that the issue of food security should be extensively discussed at the Nov. 15-16 G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia.
Speaking at a press conference in Amman, Jordan on Nov. 3, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov again remarked, “[We] are content that at Türkiye’s initiative, the Ukrainian leadership signed guarantees on its commitment not to repeat its attempts to use the humanitarian routes in the Black Sea for military purposes. The implementation of the Ukrainian part of the agreement has been resumed, but at the same time, we do not see the results regarding the second part of the deal that was initially suggested by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Let me recall that it includes the removal of any obstacles in the way of Russian fertilizer and grain exports. We again urged the UN Secretary-General to fulfill the commitments that he has assumed at his own initiative.” [https://www.mid.ru/en/foreign_policy/news/1836748/ ]
