MOSCOW, December 15./TASS/. Russia continues to help the poorest nations with food, while the West acts in its own interests, President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.
"We continue to export mineral fertilizers to global markets. In the first 11 months of this year, we have already supplied more than 25 million metric tons. Unlike Western countries, which are shamelessly hogging the covers, Russia, on the contrary, helps the poorest countries in Africa, Asia and other regions. It provides food and other goods. In the coming months we are ready, as I have repeatedly said, to transfer about 260,000 metric tons of fertilizers to needy countries free of charge. As many as 20,000 metric tons have already been sent to Malawi," Putin told a meeting of the Council for Strategic Development and National Projects.
In July, Russian, Turkish, Ukrainian and UN representatives agreed to lift restrictions on the export of Russian products and to assist Russia in exporting Ukrainian grain. In September, President Putin noted that the West was exporting most of Ukrainian grain to their own countries instead of the African countries in need. Russian UN Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya stressed that the part of the food deal concerning the export of Russian food and fertilizers was not working.