South Africa’s presidential spokesman Vincent Magwenya, on behalf of African heads of state, cut through the hypocrisy of Western malarkey and called for Russian grain and fertilizers to be allowed to reach Africa. Russia has a bountiful crop this year and, contrary to the handling of modest quantities of Ukrainian grain over the last year, Russia is prepared to make arrangements to deliver grain for free, in cases where payment is too onerous. Further, the travesty of more than 200,000 tons of Russian fertilizer that has been sitting at ports in Latvia, Estonia, Belgium, and the Netherlands since last fall, must be ended by the EU countries, releasing the supplies for shipment to Africa. Russia had also evidently made the fertilizer free to low-income countries. Such a return to sanity and humanity would put the Black Sea Grain Initiative into high gear immediately.
The Kremlin today posted the joint statement of President Vladimir Putin and the leaders of the African Peace Initiative. Entitled “Joint Statement Issued following the Engagement between the President of the Russian Federation and the Leaders of the African Peace Initiative,” it reads in part:
“On 28 July 2023, in Saint-Petersburg, the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin and the Leaders of the seven countries leading the African Peace Initiative continued their discussion on the African Peace Initiative, which they started on June 17, 2023.
“African Leaders attending the meeting on 28 July 2023 were: President Azali Assoumani of the Union of the Comoros, in his capacity as Chair of the African Union; President Cyril Ramaphosa of the Republic of South Africa; President Denis Sassou Nguesso of the Republic of the Congo; President Abdel Fattah-el Sisi of the Arab Republic of Egypt; President Масkу Sall of the Republic of Senegal; President Yoweri Museveni of the Republic of Uganda, and the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Zambia, Stanley Kakubo….
“The Leaders called for specific steps to remove obstacles to Russian grain and fertilizer exports, thus allowing the resumption of the full implementation of the Black Sea package initiative of the United Nations Secretary-General as endorsed on 22 July 2022 in Istanbul.
“The Leaders also called upon the United Nations to take necessary action in order to release 200 thousand tons of Russian fertilizer blocked in European Union seaports for immediate and free delivery to African countries.
“The Leaders agreed to continue their dialogue on the African Peace Initiative so that a door to peace can be opened.” (http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/71899)
