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Russia fulfils its obligations to supply grain to Africa in shortest time — diplomat

According to Maria Zakharova, 200,000 tons of grain were shipped to Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia, the Central African Republic, and Eritrea

MOSCOW, January 31. /TASS/. Russia promptly fulfilled its obligations to provide free grain to the most in need countries in Africa, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing.

"Russia fulfilled its obligations (on free supplies - TASS) in the shortest possible time, once again making a significant contribution to ensuring food security of the African continent. But not a single Western mainstream media, which has been talking about food security for a whole year, will proactively talk about this," the diplomat said.

According to Zakharova, 200,000 tons of grain were shipped to Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia, the Central African Republic, and Eritrea in accordance with Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision made during the Russia-Africa summit.

"The first batch was transferred to Somalia in November last year," she said, adding, "In January of this year, humanitarian cargo was delivered to Burkina Faso, Mali, Somalia, as well as Cameroon, where the wheat will be processed into flour and sent to the Central African Republic. Grain is currently being transported to Zimbabwe."

It was reported earlier on Wednesday that Uralchem Group’s humanitarian shipment of fertilizers has been delivered to Nigeria. "Uralchem Group announces that 34,000 tons of potash it has donated to Nigeria has arrived at the country’s port of Onne where it is currently being offloaded," the company said in a statement. The shipment to Africa’s most populous country is the group’s fifth humanitarian consignment.

Uralchem has contributed over 134,000 tons of fertilizers to African nations free of charge since late 2022. More than 111,000 tons of the group’s humanitarian shipments have been facilitated by the United Nations World Food Program (WFP). WFP has chartered vessels to transport the consignments from European ports and warehouses to Malawi, Kenya, Zimbabwe, and Nigeria. Uralchem has covered the sea freight and other delivery costs.

The group intends to donate around 300,000 tons of mineral fertilizers to developing nations, the statement said.

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Foreign policy Maria Zakharova

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