Russia and Turkey agree to supply 1 million metric tons of grain to African countries after negotiations fail to revive Black Sea deal

Russia and Turkey have reached an “agreement in principle” to supply 1 million metric tons of grain to African countries for free with support from Qatar, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said on Wednesday.

“We expect that in the near future, we’ll establish working contact with all sides to develop all of the technical aspects of the plan for these supplies,” Grushko told journalists in response to a question about when the shipments will start.

After meeting with Turkey’s president in Sochi on Monday, Vladimir Putin said that Russia would organize shipments of 1 million metric tons of grain to Turkey, where it will be processed before being sent to “the poorest countries” in Africa for free. Qatar may also be involved in the initiative, the president said.

Putin added that the plan is not a replacement for the Black Sea grain deal. “There’s also Ukraine, which has its own interests. We understand all of this perfectly well. So this isn’t a substitute, but it is, of course, an enormous contribution on our part,” he said.