"We also separately discussed the prospects for organizing purchases of Russian grain. The first batch has already been delivered to Tunisia. The [Tunisian] minister's delegation includes the head of a Tunisian grain company, who is currently holding talks at the Russian Ministry of Agriculture on the terms of further deliveries and their expansion," Lavrov said at a joint press conference after his meeting with Tunisian Foreign Minister Nabil Ammar.
The Tunisian foreign minister arrived in Moscow on an official visit earlier in the day.
On July 18, the Turkey- and UN-mediated Black Sea Grain Initiative, which provided for a humanitarian corridor to allow exports of Ukrainian grain over the past year, expired, as Russia did not renew its participation in the deal. Moscow emphasized that the deal's component on facilitating Russian grain and fertilizer exports had not been fulfilled and that most of the supplies were ending up in rich European states instead of in countries that most required them.
After the deal expired, Russian President Vladimir Putin gave assurances that Moscow would continue to supply grain and fertilizers to African countries despite sanctions.
