(Moscow) Russian President Vladimir Putin assured Friday that Russia retained a “very high potential” for grain exports despite Western sanctions taken to punish the attack on Ukraine in February 2022.

“Last year, as you know, we had a record and historic harvest of 158 million tonnes. This year it will also be very big, with already more than 130 million,” he said.

“Russia is likely to maintain its position as the world’s largest wheat exporter. Our grain exports, like last year, will exceed 50-60 million tons,” the Russian president said.

Vladimir Putin was speaking in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, during a summit bringing together several leaders of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), an alliance of former Soviet republics.

“Our friends and colleagues within the CIS have needs (for Russian grain, editor’s note), all of which will be met,” Vladimir Putin said.

At the beginning of September, he announced that Russia would deliver free cereals “in the coming weeks” to six African countries, without naming them.

At the same time, Russia claims that the export of its agricultural products and fertilizers to the international market is hampered by Western sanctions.

For this reason, the Kremlin in July left the grain deal negotiated under the aegis of Turkey and the UN in the summer of 2022 and which aimed to allow grain exports via Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea.