In an interview with Le Figaro, Senegalese President Macky Sall said he was satisfied with the outcome of his visit to Russia. According to him, Vladimir Putin promised not to block the export of Ukrainian grain from Odessa, which the world markets need. For his part, the African head of state promised to discuss with Western partners the lifting of restrictions on payments for Russian wheat, without which the threat of world hunger will not disappear.
In an interview with Le Figaro, Senegalese President Macky Sall expressed satisfaction with the outcome of his visit to Russia and his meeting with Vladimir Putin, which he said lasted more than three hours.
“I told him that it was necessary for us that Ukraine be allowed to export grain in order to settle the situation on the market, but I also told him that we would discuss with our partners, who have imposed sanctions, the lifting of restrictions on Russian grain and fertilizers,” the Senegalese leader said.
Sall also assured that Vladimir Putin was not against allowing Ukraine to export wheat through Odessa, provided the port is demined. The Russian president, according to Sall, promised not to use this position to attack and suggested other schemes for taking Ukrainian grain, for example through the Danube, Belarus or Mariupol, where Putin also promised to create a security corridor.
While the source of Africa’s food problems has been the hostilities in Ukraine, sanctions against Russia have exacerbated these problems, the Senegalese head stressed.
“We will be told that there are no sanctions on wheat, but in fact sanctions on payment methods make it impossible to trade with countries like ours, while China, for example, can continue to buy,” the African politician explained.
According to him, banks in Senegal are too vulnerable to bypass the SWIFT interbank messaging system. Meanwhile, Russian gas continues to flow into Europe – there has been no embargo on the product, Sall noted.
“Therefore, we demand that grain and fertilizers are also not subject to sanctions, at least that the payment systems allow for their purchase,” insists the Senegalese president, suggesting that a special mechanism for the purchase of these goods, similar to the one established for oil and gas, be created.
Sall is convinced that until access to Russian fertilizers, as well as to Russian wheat – because Ukrainian wheat will not be enough – is opened, the risk of starvation will not disappear.
The reason many African countries refuse to condemn the Russian special operation in Ukraine is seen by Sall as a reluctance to get involved in a conflict that the continent has nothing to do with.
“In addition, promises of economic aid after the epidemic, in particular the right to special loans, have still not been fulfilled. I can understand the powerful mobilisation of resources for Ukraine, a country in danger, but asking Africa to join in, oblivious of other problems, has not contributed to progress either,” says the Senegalese head.
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