The African leader hinted to Putin that many African countries supported the Russian side in the war with Ukraine.

The leader of the African Union, Senegalese President Macky Sall, during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, said that Western sanctions against Russia have exacerbated Africa’s lack of access to grain .

This is stated in the transcript on the website of the President of Russia.play video

He reminded Putin of the food crisis due to the lack of grain supplies from Ukraine, hinting that many African countries supported the Russian side in the war with Ukraine: “It should be noted that the position of the African continent is very heterogeneous and, despite great pressure, many countries did not condemn Russia’s position.” 

At the same time, there is not a hint in the transcript of Sall’s condemnation of the actions of Russia, which blocks the Black Sea and plunders Ukrainian grain in the occupied territories. On the contrary, the leader of the African Union considered it appropriate to blame the West for the crisis.

“Sanctions against Russia have further aggravated this situation, and now we do not have access to grains from Russia, especially wheat from Russia. And, most importantly, we do not have access to fertilizers, because the situation was already difficult, and now it is even more complex, and this has implications for food security in Africa,” he said.

African countries are critically dependent on grain from Russia and Ukraine, which account for more than 40% of the continent’s wheat imports. 

Countries such as Rwanda, Tanzania and Senegal receive more than 60 percent of these imports from both countries. In Egypt, this figure reaches 80%, while Benin and Somalia are completely dependent on wheat supplies from Russia and Ukraine.

African countries are also dependent on fertilizers from Ukraine, and shortages will affect plantings this year and will be felt throughout next year, the UN warned

(C)UNIAN 2022