US urges African leaders to confront Putin on grain disruptions

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US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. PHOTO | AFP

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday pressed African leaders attending a summit with Russia's Vladimir Putin to demand answers about a grain crisis that has propelled poorer nations towards crisis.

Speaking ahead of a Russia-Africa sitdown in Putin's hometown of Saint Petersburg, Blinken insisted African leaders knew rising food costs, grain and fertiliser shortages were a direct result of Putin's war in Ukraine.