Malian MP slams West for exaggerating grain crisis in Africa
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The diplomat said African countries have come to the awareness that no other state can be relied on to ensure their own food security.
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More than 50,000 tons of wheat for commercial use in Kenya and procured under the Black Sea Grain Initiative is offloaded from the Eaubonne bulk carrier ship after it docked in Mombasa, Kenya, on November 26, 2023 (AP)
Alialiu Tunkara, a member of the Malian parliament, told Sputnik on Tuesday that the West has been amplifying the scale of the grain crisis in Africa to measures beyond what they truly are despite the fact that the situation is not so dire amid the recent suspension of the grain deal.
The comments were delivered on the sidelines of the Russian-African conference of the Valdai Discussion Club, which opened earlier on Tuesday in Russia's St. Petersburg.
"There is no doubt that Africa needs grain, but the situation is not as catastrophic as the West claims, they are escalating the situation intentionally. I look at the suspension of the grain deal as a temporary difficulty, the situation is calm right now," Tunkara said, noting that food security in Africa is currently satisfactory.
He further said that African countries have come to the awareness that no other state can be relied on to ensure their own food security and that they should instead mobilize resources towards developing agricultural output and work with friendly states on agrotechnological development.
Read more: Russia, African leaders to adopt joint action plan in upcoming summit
On July 18, 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.
UN estimates show that the largest share of Ukrainian grain exports ended up in the EU, while some of the poorest countries -- Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan, and Ethiopia -- received barely over 2% of the grain.
Earlier this week, Moscow gave the United Nations three more months to implement its obligations as per the co-signed memorandum, which includes overseeing that developing countries are made a priority to receive the food produce and regranting access of Russian Agricultural Bank to SWIFT.
"The UN has three more months to implement [the memorandum with Russia on the export of Russian grain and fertilizers] to achieve concrete results," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said.
The Russian diplomat added that the door is still open to discuss the grain deal only in the event that obligations towards Russia are met, Zakharova added.
The leaders of African nations are currently meeting with Moscow officials within the framework of the Russia-Africa summit in St. Petersburg, with the aim of adopting a policy declaration, a joint action plan, as well as three sector documents.
On Monday, President Vladimir Putin vowed that Moscow would continue to supply grain and fertilizers to African countries despite sanctions.
Read more: Zelensky says EU keeping curbs on Ukraine grain 'unacceptable'
