Russian President Vladimir Putin and his South African counterpart, Cyril Ramaphosa, had a telephone call on July 15, 2023. Photo: AA

Russian President Vladimir Putin has discussed the Black Sea Grain Initiative in a phone talk with his South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa.

According to a Kremlin statement released on Saturday, Putin told Ramaphosa that the main purpose of the deal, namely the supply of grain to countries in need, including on the African continent, has not been realised.

Putin also pointed out that obligations stipulated in the relevant Russia-UN memorandum on the removal of obstacles to the export of Russian food and fertilisers remain unfulfilled.

Putin and Ramaphosa also discussed preparation for the Russia-Africa summit in July and BRICS (acronym for Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) meeting in August.

Peace initiative

According to Kremlin, the two leaders agreed to continue considering the African peace initiative on Ukraine at the Russia-Africa summit.

In a separate statement, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that the leaders of the African countries, who were part of the continent's peace mission that visited Ukraine and Russia in June, "will definitely have an opportunity" to talk about their initiative with Putin on the sidelines of Russia-Africa summit.

AA