Russian-South African Trade Talks and the Future of Food Security: Insights from Cyril Ramaphosa and Vladimir Putin

2023-07-15 21:33:59

With our correspondent in Johannesburg, Claire Bargelès

According to the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin reminded his South African interlocutor that Russian requests to remove obstacles to its own exports of fertilizers and food products have so far not been respected.

These exchanges take place following Statements by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoganwho claimed on Friday that his Russian counterpart was “ All right » to continue the grain corridor in the Black Sea.

Cyril Ramaphosa intends to continue discussions, also with the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, with whom he had already spoken during the week, as well as the Secretary General of the UN, Antonio Guterres.

If this agreement is not extended once more, Africa in particular might pay the price and see its food security put in a little more danger.

The South African and Russian presidents also exchanged around the BRICS summit (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), organized at the end of August in Johannesburg, without it being specified for the moment whether Vladimir Poutine will go there: under the influence of an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court, he should be arrested if he sets foot on South African soil, the country being a signatory to the Rome Statute.

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