Putin confirms Russia’s readiness to provide free grain to poorest countries

In a telephone conversation with Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed Russia’s readiness to provide a significant amount of grain to the poorest countries for free, and the Indonesian leader supported this approach, Report informs referring to TASS.

“In the context of ensuring global food security, Vladimir Putin outlined the fundamental Russian approaches to the implementation of the Istanbul package agreements regarding the export of Ukrainian grain from the Black Sea ports and unblocking the export of Russian agricultural products and fertilizers to world markets,” reads the statement.

Putin also noted the readiness of the Russian side to provide significant amounts of grain to the poorest countries free of charge as humanitarian aid. “Joko Widodo supported this approach,” the press service of the Russian president reported.

Putin noted that having received the necessary guarantees from the Ukrainian side not to use the humanitarian route for military purposes, Russia resumes the implementation of the ‘grain deal.’

Putin and the president of Indonesia discussed topical issues of bilateral cooperation and reaffirmed their commitment to further building up ties.