Russia initiates grain deliveries to Africa

Burkina Faso, the Central African Republic, Eritrea, Mali, Somalia, and Zimbabwe will each receive 50,000 tons of grain free of charge in the coming months, Lavrov stated during an event in Moscow. He also noted that Russia would cover the associated expenses.

Addressing the situation in Ukraine, Lavrov mentioned that Saudi Arabia had informed Moscow that the meeting held on August 5-6 in Jeddah aimed to convey the idea that a peace settlement between Moscow and Kyiv would require Russia's involvement.

He remarked that Western support for Ukraine would continue only as long as it did for other countries like Afghanistan and Iraq.

Regarding Russia's exploration of trade in currencies other than the US dollar, Lavrov argued that Washington had undermined the currency by weaponizing it. He added that while there currently isn't enough experience to transition to another currency, standard procedures would gradually develop due to the increasing number of countries seeking alternatives.

He specifically highlighted the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), indicating that 90% of the association's trade turnover in 2023 would occur in national currencies.

Lavrov also mentioned that Iran, Russia, Turkey, and Syria are in ongoing discussions regarding the draft implementation of a roadmap for normalizing relations between Damascus and Ankara, a process that began in 2022.

"We have released a statement expressing our interest in developing a roadmap for normalization between Syria and Turkey. We provided the draft roadmap to all our counterparts in June. Current discussions aim to refine it to a generally acceptable state for approval," he explained.

Lavrov disclosed that Russia had proposed that Ankara and Damascus return to the 1998 Adana Agreement to address their differences regarding counter-terrorism measures. He also identified the "US's illegal support of Kurdish separatism" as another obstacle to Turkish-Syrian normalization.