Extension of grain deal: telephone exchange between Ramaphosa and Putin

A month after the peace mission in Ukraine and Russia led by several African heads of state, the President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, one of the participants, spoke with his counterpart Vladimir Putin by phone on Saturday, July 15. The two men notably discussed the future of the grain agreement in the Black Sea, an agreement that allows Ukraine to export its wheat from its ports, despite the war, and which is due to expire on Monday evening, July 17.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa, here in October 2019, in Sochi. (Illustrative photo) AP - Sergei Chirikov

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With our correspondent in Johannesburg, Claire Bargelès

According to the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin reminded his South African interlocutor that Russian demands to remove obstacles to its own exports of fertilizers and food products have so far not been met.

These exchanges come after the statements of the Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who said Friday that his Russian counterpart was "agreed" to continue the grain corridor in the Black Sea.

Cyril Ramaphosa intends to continue the discussions, also with the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, with whom he had already spoken during the week, as well as the Secretary General of the UN, Antonio Guterres.

If this agreement is not extended again, Africa in particular could pay the price and see its food security put at greater risk.

The South African and Russian presidents also exchanged views on the BRICS summit (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), held at the end of August in Johannesburg, without it being specified for the moment whether Vladimir Putin will go there: under an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court, he should be arrested if he set foot on South African soil, the country is a signatory to the Rome Statute.

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  • South Africa
  • Russia
  • Cyril Ramaphosa
  • Vladimir Poutine
  • Trade and Commerce
  • Agriculture and Fisheries
  • BRICS