Erdogan, Putin agreed to send Russian grains to poor African countries for free

REUTERS|ISTANBUL: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that he had agreed with counterpart Vladimir Putin that Russian grains sent under the Black Sea export deal should go to poor African countries for free.

“In my phone call with Vladimir Putin, he said ‘Let’s send this grain to countries such as Djibouti, Somalia and Sudan for free’ – and we agreed,” Erdogan said in a speech to businesspeople in Istanbul.

The comment came after Moscow resumed on Wednesday its participation in the U.N. and Turkey-brokered grain agreement, ending four days of non-cooperation that still saw exports continue from Ukrainian ports.

Earlier this week, Putin said even if Russia withdrew from the deal again, it would substitute the entire volume of grain destined for the “poorest countries” for free from its own stocks.

Reporting by Nevzat Deranoglu and Yesim Dikmen Writing by Daren Butler; Editing by Ali Kucukgocmen and Jonathan Spicer