Vladimir Putin: Dear Mr. President, Dear Mr. Chairman of the Commission!

I am very glad to see and receive you in Russia. I know that you have a busy program of stay in our country.

But at the beginning of the meeting, I would like to note that we remember and also pay attention to significant events: Africa Day was recently celebrated, a week ago. We also have a big event with Senegal – the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. And soon, in the next few days, you will celebrate the creation of the African Union.

In this regard, I would like to recall that our country has always been on the side of Africa, has always supported Africa in its fight against colonialism.

And I am very pleased to note that the Russia–Africa summit was held here in Sochi in 2019. At a new stage of development, we attach great importance to our relations with African countries, and I must say that this has a certain positive result.

Our trade turnover is growing. This year, even in the first months of this year, it has grown by more than 34 percent. We are striving to develop humanitarian ties with African countries and will do everything – what depends on us – in order for this process to gain momentum. Russia has always been very interested in African culture, and this is a significant part of our interaction.

The role of Africa in the international arena, in general, in political terms, is also growing. We believe that Africa as a whole and its individual States, with which we have traditionally very good, without any exaggeration friendly relations, the whole of Africa as a whole has great prospects, and proceeding from this we intend to further develop our relations with Africa as a whole, with its individual States.

I am very glad to see you. Welcome!

M. Sall (as translated): Thank you very much, Mr. President.

I am very glad to see you here, to meet you in Sochi, in this beautiful Black Sea city. And against this international background, I am especially glad to see you.

I thank you for calling when we had a chance to talk at the very beginning of the crisis, and I thank you for hosting us here today – me not only as President of Senegal, but also as Chairman of the African Union. The Chairman of the African Union Commission is also with me today.

And, indeed, Russia played a huge role in the independence of the African continent, which the African continent will never be able to forget, and it is in the name of this friendship that I am also here.

We have high hopes for our cooperation, including bilateral cooperation between Russia and the African continent, but we are also here today to talk about the crisis and its consequences.

As you know, a number of countries voted for resolutions within the framework of the United Nations, and it should be noted that the position of the African continent is very diverse and – despite a lot of pressure – many countries still did not condemn Russia's position.

You can also look at Asia, the Middle East, Latin America – we see that the world as a whole is very much following the development of the situation. I have really high hopes and came here today to tell you that the countries that are so far from the place where the conflict is developing are still experiencing its consequences.

Sanctions against Russia have further aggravated this situation, and now we do not have access to grain from Russia, especially wheat from Russia. And most importantly, we do not have access to fertilizers, because the situation was already difficult, and now it is even more difficult, and this entails consequences for food security in Africa.

This morning, I literally talked to my colleague from the African Union Commission, and I told him that there are two main problems – the crisis and sanctions. We need to work together to resolve these two problems so that food products, in particular grain and fertilizers, are removed from sanctions.