Shipments to some of the poorest nations on the continent will be ready within months, the Russian president has said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced that he will gift tens of thousands of tons of grain to six African countries within the next four months, despite Western sanctions that he said made it harder for Moscow to export its grain and fertilizers.
Putin made the pledge at the opening of the Russia-Africa summit in St Petersburg on Thursday, where he met with 16 African heads of state and 10 prime ministers. He said that Russia would send between 25,000 and 50,000 tons of grain to Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan and Yemen free of charge.
The gesture comes amid a worsening humanitarian crisis in East Africa, where millions of people are facing severe food insecurity due to drought, conflict and locust infestations.
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