In Cairo, on July 24, 2022, it is first of all good news that the head of Russian diplomacy Sergei Lavrov made a point of announcing to his Egyptian partners after the conclusion in Turkey of an agreement for the export of grains of Ukraine and Russia. Signed on July 22 in Istanbul, under the aegis of the United Nations, this agreement provides for the establishment of “secure corridors” in order to allow the circulation in the Black Sea of merchant ships, which Moscow and kyiv undertake not to attack.
“We have confirmed the commitment of Russian exporters of grain products to meet all their obligations”, said Sergei Lavrov, during a press conference after talks with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shukri. Moscow’s partners needed to be reassured all the more because, the day after the signing of the agreement, Ukraine indicated that Russian strikes had hit the port of Odessa, the main Ukrainian port in the Black Sea, accusing Vladimir Putin to have “spit in the face” of the UN and Turkey and jeopardize the application of the new agreement on the resumption of exports.
After denying to Ankara any involvement in these strikes, the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitri Peskov, indicated on July 25 that these bombardments were aimed at “only military infrastructure“. Therefore, “this cannot and should not interfere with the start of the loading process (cereals)“. Ukraine, for its part, announced in the process that it would resume its exports of cereals, as well as fertilizers “from this week”
After Egypt, Sergueï Lavrov traveled to Congo-Brazaville where he met Congolese President Denis Sassou Nguesso on July 25, re-elected in March 2021 after having already spent more than 35 years in power. In Oyo, in the stronghold of the Congolese leader located north of the capital Brazzaville, the Russian diplomat reiterated his message to a country which has displayed its neutrality since the invasion of Ukraine by Russia while condemning it at the United Nations . Only military targets were affected by the Russian operations in Odessa: the wheat is safe.
Audience |
The President of the Republic, Denis Sassou-N’Guesso met, on July 25, 2022 in Oyo, with Sergei Lavrov,
Russian Foreign Minister. pic.twitter.com/ZjfLee9hs7— Presidency of the Republic (@PR_Congo) July 25, 2022
If Moscow wants to be so reassuring, it is because the Istanbul agreement is now an integral part of its diplomatic arsenal to keep its African allies with it. Restoring grain supplies will help to lift the shadow of food insecurity that already hangs over many countries on the continent. After its signature, the African Union (AU) was also quick to congratulate, in a press release, “all parties for this fruitful development”.
Without forgetting to underline the role played by the current president of the African Union, the Senegalese head of state Macky Sall. The latter had met his Russian counterpart in Sochi, on June 3, 2022, to explain to him that the African countries, even far from the zone of conflict between Russia and Ukraine, were “victims” and had asked him for the resumption exports of cereals and especially fertilizers, the absence of which penalizes harvests in African countries.
President #Cheese fries expressed to us its readiness to facilitate the export of Ukrainian cereals.
Russia is ready to ensure the export of its wheat and fertilizer.
I call on all partners to lift sanctions on wheat and fertilizer. pic.twitter.com/7PqVLNhqWD— Macky Sall (@Macky_Sall) June 3, 2022
Before the invasion of Ukraine, the export of wheat, corn and sunflower from Ukraine was 90% by sea and essentially by Odessa which concentrated 60% of the country’s port activity. The agreement should make it possible to export 20 to 25 million tonnes of grain blocked in Ukraine and to facilitate Russian agricultural exports. Russia having obtained the guarantee that Western sanctions will not apply, directly or indirectly, to its exports of agricultural products and fertilizers.
In Uganda, where the prices of basic foodstuffs and those of fuel have soared in recent months, Sergei Lavrov is expected by the autocrat Yoweri Museveni, whose regime does not hide its inclination for the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin. The country abstained from voting last March to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. As for Ethiopia, it did not participate in the vote at all. It is in this country in conflict and which is experiencing an unprecedented famine that the head of Russian diplomacy will end his African journey.
While France and Russia are waging a war of influence on African soil, French President Emmanuel Macron and the head of Russian diplomacy Sergei Lavrov are staying there simultaneously until July 28.