Russia plans to donate 25,000 tonnes of wheat to Lebanon amid Black Sea deal dispute

 Lebanon was told on Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin approved a donation of 25,000 tonnes of wheat to the crisis-hit country, Lebanese Public Works Minister Ali Hamie told Reuters on Monday.

Russia would also donate 10,000 tonnes of fuel oil to Beirut, Hamie said. 

Lebanon, once a reasonably affluent country, has been plunged into a series of protracted crises, including an economic meltdown, prolonged political deadlock and the devastating Beirut port blast in 2020. 

On top of this, there has been a wave of cholera cases in Lebanon, according to the World Health Organisation. 

On the same day, Pakistan's government approved a plan to buy 300,000 metric tonnes of wheat from Russia, the finance ministry said in a statement.

This comes just after Russia suspended its participation in a critical Black Sea deal that allowed for the exportation of Ukrainian grain shipments to alleviate the global food supply crisis.