ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday he had agreed with Vladimir Putin that Russian grain sent under the Black Sea export deal would go to poor African countries for free .
“Let’s send these grains to countries like Djibouti, Somalia and Sudan for free,” the Russian president reportedly said in a phone call, according to the Turkish official. The latter added, during a speech in Istanbul, that Turkey has accepted this proposal.
The comment came after Moscow resumed its participation in the UN-brokered grain deal with Turkey on Wednesday, ending four days of non-cooperation that saw exports continue from Ukrainian ports.
Earlier this week, Vladimir Putin said that even if Russia pulled out of the deal again, it would replace all grain destined for “the poorest countries” from its own stocks for free.
(Reporting Nevzat Deranoglu and Yesim Dikmen, Written by Daren Butler; French version Alizée Degorce, editing by Kate Entringer)
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