MOSCOW, November 26 – RIA Novosti. Speaking at the International Food Security Summit, Volodymyr Zelenskyy reiterated Kiev’s intention to ship grain to Africa and Asia as part of the new Grain from Ukraine initiative, in which Ukraine is committed to providing Ukrainian food to countries threatened by famine. .

Earlier, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said that he agreed with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the possibility of sending free Russian grain and fertilizer to starving African countries. Putin pointed out in early September that the West exports most of Ukrainian grain to its own provinces, not to needy countries in Africa. He also noted that Moscow is ready to provide the poorest countries with the entire volume of grain allocated to them under the grain agreement, free of charge.

“Our goal is ambitious and specific – to save at least 5 million people from starvation. Ukraine has already taken the first steps on this path – sending the first ships. In mid-November 27,000 tons of wheat to Ethiopia. It is being loaded today. This is another 30,000 tons of wheat for people in Ethiopia. “Now three more ships are being loaded in Ukrainian ports. They will deliver more than 80,000 tons of edible wheat to the countries that need it most.” The website quoted his words.

According to him, in total, under the Grain program from Ukraine, by the end of next spring it is planned to send at least 60 ships, at least 10 per month from ports, to countries threatened by famine and drought – these are Ethiopia, Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, Yemen, Congo , Kenya, Nigeria. Zelensky also proposed the creation of a new international institution, headquartered in Kyiv or Odessa, which would become a new, effective and efficient tool for preventing and quickly responding to global crises.

Meanwhile, Zelensky’s actions should most likely be perceived as a reaction to Russia’s proposal to provide free grain to Africa. Now Zelensky wants to seize the initiative of the leadership of the Russian Federation, but from the practice of previous shipments it is known that the poorest countries receive only three percent of all grain sent from Ukraine. In addition, as RIA Novosti has repeatedly stated, bread and flour prices in Ukraine are rising faster than inflation.

The grain agreement, signed on July 22 by representatives of Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and the UN, includes the export of grain, food and fertilizer to the Black Sea from Ukraine’s three ports, including Odessa. The Joint Coordination Center (JCC) in Istanbul is responsible for coordinating the movement of ships.

The contract expired on November 18, but automatically meant an extension of 120 days if neither party objected. A day ago, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that “no such objection has been received”, and also noted that the Russian side allowed the technical extension of the “Black Sea initiative” for Ukrainian grain exports, without change in any terms and conditions. binoculars.