Russia is pushing a plan to supply grain to Africa and cut Ukraine

Russia is pushing a plan to supply grain to Africa and isolate Ukraine from global markets after it pulled out of a United Nations-backed deal this week, according to three people familiar with the matter.

President Vladimir Putin proposed an alternative initiative whereby Qatar would pay Moscow to ship its grain to Turkey, which would distribute the crop to “needy countries,” the people said. They added that neither Qatar nor Turkey agreed to the idea, which Moscow did not raise to official levels.

Kiev and its Western backers are likely to be deeply suspicious of Russia’s offer, which would effectively secure Moscow’s naval blockade of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports that are a vital economic lifeline for the country.

Russia first floated the idea of ​​supplying grain to Africa last year, people familiar with the matter said, after briefly withdrawing from a Black Sea deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey that allowed the export of 33 million tonnes of Ukrainian grain. Moscow rejoined the deal a few days later.

Under the offer, and according to a draft memorandum seen by the Financial Times, Russia was to send up to 1 million tons of grain to Turkey “on a preferential basis”. Qatar will pay the bill in full and the grain will be supplied to Türkiye for shipment to Africa.

After Putin pulled out of the grain deal again this week, people involved in those talks said they expect Russia to push its proposal at the summit with African leaders in St Petersburg next week and when he visits Turkey in August.

“It’s a big gimmick,” said one of the people involved in the cereal talks. “It’s macho, just to show they can.” A person familiar with the matter said Moscow had not formally communicated with Doha about the initiative, but added that it was unlikely that Qatar would agree if it did.

Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment. Türkiye, Ukraine and Qatar did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Putin said Russia withdrew from the grain deal because of the European Union’s reluctance to back down from sanctions on payments, freight and insurance for Moscow’s agricultural exports. He claimed that he would be willing to rejoin once these conditions were met.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said this week that Russia remains “for” the Black Sea agreement, and called on the West to make concessions to Putin on the issue.

Two Western diplomats said Ukraine’s supporters believe the Russian proposal is in fact a way to put additional pressure on Kiev while exporting grain from parts of the country currently occupied by its military.

“The last time they were discussing this [idea] “We had a very strong suspicion that the grain would actually be stolen grain from Ukraine,” said a senior EU official.

Moscow has publicly framed the idea as offering free grain to the poorest countries ahead of the Russia-Africa summit. It has used the grain issue as a wedge to drum up sympathy for its stance on Ukraine in the Global South and create a wave of sentiment against Western sanctions.

Putin complained this week that Western countries were preventing Moscow from sending free fertilizer to Africa. Regarding grain, he said: “Our country is able to replace Ukrainian grain on a commercial basis and without justification,” adding that “the continuation of the grain deal in its current form has lost all meaning.”

However, the exit from the Black Sea Agreement has angered some governments in Africa, especially those facing pressure at home over soaring food prices since Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine last year.

Kenya, a consumer of Russian grain and fertilizer, said this week that Russia’s move was a “stab in the back” that “disproportionately affects countries” in its region.

Other African leaders are under US pressure to condemn Russia over the grain issue and not travel to St Petersburg, according to two African officials. This creates a quandary for some because they often need Russian and American help on economic and security issues.

Tags: Ukraine, Russia, Turkey, grain, Qatar, war