African leaders gather in Russia, as attempts to isolate Moscow fail
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Seventeen African leaders, including South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, are expected to attend the Russia-Africa summit.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in Strel’na, outside Saint Petersburg, on July 26, 2023, ahead of the second Russia-Africa summit. (AFP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to host a summit in Saint Petersburg with leaders from African countries, showing that the West failed to isolate Russia on the international stage. Putin has expressed his commitment to further developing cooperation with Africa after the grain deal exit.
Seventeen African leaders, including South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, are expected to attend the Russia-Africa summit.
The summit will be an opportunity for Putin to engage in bilateral talks and address the plenary session, discussing his vision of Russia-Africa ties and the formation of a new world order. Russia has been making efforts to strengthen diplomatic and security ties with Africa, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov conducting tours in the continent.
The summit, the second of its kind after one held in Sochi in 2019, aims to discuss Russia-Africa ties and the impact of Moscow's withdrawal from the grain deal.
The grain deal: Benefit for the rich, impact on the poor
The deal facilitated the export of around 33 million tonnes of grain from Ukrainian ports to global markets, including Africa, stabilizing food prices and averting shortages.
However, international watchdogs have repeatedly warned that the lion's share of the food produced was delivered to the West, leaving poor countries combined receiving less than one-third of exports. The UN itself admitted the disproportionality through its coordinator who maintained that developing and impoverished nations received only 10 percent of corn and 40 percent of wheat, while rich countries obtained 90 percent of corn and 60 percent of wheat.
Concurrently, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that most of the grain exports found their way to the European Union instead of developing countries. Addressing this issue, Putin announced that Moscow is ready to export potash fertilizers to low-income nations, especially in Africa, free of charge
On July 17, Moscow announced that it had "terminated" the grain deal, explaining that it would be resumed once Western countries fulfill their commitments to the deal, which, according to Russia, only benefited Ukraine while sanctions hindered the export and sale of Russian grain and fertilizers.
On July 22, Moscow's deputy permanent representative to the UN reiterated that Russia's decision to withdraw from the grain deal was a result of unaddressed concerns, declaring that Moscow is open to rejoining the grain deal facilitated by the UN and Turkey but under certain conditions. Russia also emphasized that the grain deal should prioritize its original humanitarian purpose, aimed at addressing food issues in developing countries rather than benefiting wealthy nations.
UN chief reiterates support for memorandum on Russian grain and fertilizer exports
On his part, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin stated that during a meeting on food security in Rome, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reiterated the UN's dedication to carrying out a memorandum concerning Russia's exports of fertilizers and agricultural products.
The Black Sea Grain Initiative was a prominent topic in their discussions at the meeting. Vershinin expressed gratitude for the UN's efforts in implementing the memorandum but emphasized the importance of tangible results for their agricultural exports, which have not been achieved yet.
"It is important for us that the secretary general has reaffirmed the UN's commitment to implement the Russia-UN memorandum and said that he would continue his efforts on that. We appreciate these efforts by the UN, but at the same time we are saying once again that we need the results. It is tangible results for our agricultural exports that we will be guided by, and there is none of that at the moment," Vershinin said.
A summit ahead of another summit
The summit in Saint Petersburg is being held a month before a BRICS summit in Johannesburg. Putin has been invited to the summit and he will take part in every meeting of the BRICS leaders virtually.
Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron was not issued an invitation to attend the activities of the next BRICS meeting, as per a South African news outlet.
The heads of 70 nations received invites to the unification meeting from South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who is also the chairman of the BRICS, but neither the French President nor the United States or the United Kingdom leaders were included, according to the journal.
This is the third consecutive year that South Africa has held the BRICS presidency. The BRICS chairship will be held by Russia starting in 2024.
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