The Kremlin indicated today, Saturday, that Russian President Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, during which the two leaders discussed the grain export agreement via the Black Sea and the African peace initiative regarding Ukraine. Putin is likely to attend the BRICS summit in August, which is a sensitive matter for both countries due to the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court against him in March for the war crime of deporting Ukrainian children to Russia. The arrest warrant requires member countries of the court, including South Africa, to arrest Putin if he steps onto their territory. Russia described the warrant at that time as "outrageous" and legally invalid because Russia is not a member of the court.
The Kremlin has not yet announced whether Putin intends to attend the summit. It stated on Saturday that Ramaphosa informed Putin about the preparations his country has made to host the summit, without mentioning further details of the phone call. Ramaphosa's office did not include any mention of the BRICS summit, which also includes Brazil, India, and China, in its statement regarding the call.
The statement indicated that the two presidents discussed the African initiative for peace in Ukraine and "the need for a sustainable solution for transporting grain from Russia and Ukraine to global markets." Ramaphosa and others presented the African plan separately to both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last month, but no signs of momentum for it have yet emerged.
Regarding the grain agreement, which is set to expire on Monday unless Russia agrees to extend it, the Kremlin noted that Putin confirmed to Ramaphosa that commitments to remove obstacles to Russian food and fertilizer exports have yet to be met. Russia has repeatedly stated that it will not agree to renew the agreement for this reason. The agreement was established a year ago to enable Ukraine to export grain from its Black Sea ports despite the ongoing war with Russia.
