"Russia will provide Lebanon with 25,000 tonnes of wheat and 10,000 tonnes of fuel for the country's power plants," Hamia said.
The minister said the Russian ambassador in Beirut told him that Russian President Vladimir Putin already gave relevant orders, but the actual time of delivery would be determined later.
On Saturday, Russia suspended its participation in the Black Sea Grain Initiative after Ukraine attacked Russian military and civilian vessels in the Black Sea. Russian Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Dmitry Chumakov said on Monday that the grain deal was not effective in bringing grain and fertilizer to developing countries. Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed that only 3% to 5% of grain deal supplies went to the poorest countries, while some 35% headed to the EU and 34% to Turkey.
On October 29, Russian Agriculture Minister Dmitry Patrushev said that Russia was ready to supply up to 500,000 tonnes of grain to the struggling nations at no cost in the next four months and fully replace the Ukrainian grain exports, as well as organize grain deliveries to all concerned countries at reasonable prices. Patrushev noted that Russia has already harvested 150 million tonnes of grain this year, while its export potential is estimated at over 50 million tonnes.
Lebanon has been plunged into a deep financial and economic crisis, accompanied by political and social tensions, since 2019. Amid the crisis, the banking system was almost completely paralyzed, the national currency depreciated more than 20 times against the dollar. As a result, more than 70% of the population are living below the poverty line.