Zelenskyy and South African President Ramaphosa discuss continuation of the “grain corridor”

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a telephone conversation with President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa. This is stated in Zelensky’s post on social media.

The head of state thanked Ramaphosa for his visit to Bucha and Kyiv together with other African leaders and for “further efforts to return children illegally deported by Russia.”

During the conversation, they discussed preparations for the peace summit and the necessary diplomatic steps to consolidate African support for Ukraine.

“The continuation of the grain corridor is important. I invited the Republic of South Africa to join the #GrainFromUkraine initiative,” Zelenskyy said.

As a reminder, Cyril Ramaphosa and a number of African leaders visited Ukraine last month. Ramaphosa’s visit was part of the so-called African peacekeeping mission. The African delegation brought its proposals for “peace,” including the withdrawal of Russian troops, the non-deployment of tactical nuclear weapons from Belarus, the suspension of the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant for Putin, and the easing of sanctions.

Meanwhile, the “grain deal” expires on July 17. Russia says it will not extend it. The United Nations has repeatedly expressed concern about this, and recently its Secretary-General Antonio Guterres even wrote a letter to Putin. In the document, Russia is offered a leniency regarding SWIFT: to extend the grain deal in exchange for connecting a subsidiary of a Russian agricultural bank to the international payment system.

Tags: Ukraine, Black Sea grain corridor