After 4 years came the second summit between Russia and Africa. An opportunity with which the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, tries to continue exerting influence, especially military, among African countries. However, the meeting also served to put the African proposal for the end of the conflict in Ukraine back on the table and served as a form of pressure to resume the Black Sea grain agreement.
“Arms contracts”, “free grain” and the evaluation of the African peace plan on the Russian war in Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin is trying to conquer that continent in full invasion of his neighboring country, the isolation that he faces from a large part of the international community and after his withdrawal from the Ukrainian grain export agreement.
This Friday, July 27, the Kremlin leader assured the African leaders – gathered for two days in Saint Petersburg for the Russia-Africa summit under the motto “For peace, security and development” – that the Russian government “carefully studies” the peace plan proposed by the nations of that continent to end the invasion that Moscow ordered on February 24, 2022.
At the center of the debate were the war in Ukraine, but also the grain agreement, which Russia decided to put an end to on July 17. A gesture that many African countries saw as a betrayal of the Kremlin.
During the summit it was possible to see the harmony between Russia and South Africa, the main country in sub-Saharan Africa and whose president, Cyril Ramaphosa, took advantage of the appointment to attack the West: “We must stop those countries that count their wealth and assets in terms of minerals residing in African soil.
It was Putin’s time to show what he considers the success of his idea of a “multipolar world” and the conviction of those countries that follow him. But he found that only 17 heads of state attended, a notable decrease compared to the last appointment of 2019, when there were 43 leaders. A small number for a continent of 54 countries, the largest voting bloc in the United Nations.
The African way to end the war
In June, African countries presented a proposal to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine: withdraw Russian troops, remove tactical nuclear weapons from Belarus, suspend the ICC arrest warrant against Putin and ease sanctions.
“This is an acute issue and we are not evading its consideration,” Putin said at the summit, and assured that he would view the initiative with respect and attention.
However, the Russian leader also called on African countries to talk with Ukraine, which is closed to dialogue as long as there are Russian troops on its territory. “I think it is necessary to talk to the other side as well, although we are grateful to our African friends for their attention to the issue.”
It was the Russian president’s response to requests from the Republic of the Congo, Senegal, South Africa itself and even the African Union. “This war must end. And it can only end on the basis of Justice and reason,” said African Union Commission Chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat.
African countries call for resuming Black Sea grain deal
To silence the runrun of the African countries, Putin announced at the opening of the summit that Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia, Eritrea and the Central African Republic they will each receive 25,000 to 50,000 tons of Russian grain in the next three to four months.
“Russia will always be a responsible international supplier of agricultural products and will continue to support countries and regions in need by offering free grain and other supplies,” said the Russian leader, who in recent weeks has been accusing the West of profiting from the Black Sea deal. to the detriment of the poorest nations, without presumably complying with the agreement.
Despite the announcement, during the summit, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the Egyptian president, has been urging Russia to renew the pact, so that Ukraine can export grains from its ports, since that African country is a large buyer in the area. . Putin replied that the price increase is due to Western policy mistakes prior to the war.
The agreement that allowed the export of grain from the ports of Ukraine and Russia, negotiated by Turkey and the United Nations, was in force for more than a year. The World Food Program came to send 725,000 tons of grains to the most vulnerable countries. A quantity of a total of more than 32 million tons exported in this time.
Moscow has indicated its willingness to “immediately resume the agreement” when its requests are met: reconnect the Russian agricultural bank, Rosseljozbank, to SWIFT, lift sanctions on spare parts for agricultural machinery, unblock logistics and transport insurance, unfreeze assets and resume operation of the Togliatti-Odesa ammonia pipeline, which exploded on June 5.
Wagner Group in Africa
Trade between Russia and Africa moves between 15 and 20 billion dollars, while Russian investments in the continent are around 1%.
However, during the meeting in Saint Petersburg, Putin announced the cancellation of 90 million dollars of debt and arms contracts with more than 40 countries, some of them for free, in a clear sign of the desire for Russian influence in the region, where it is the main arms distributor.
“In order to strengthen the defensive capacity of the countries of the continent, we are developing cooperation in the military and military-technical fields,” Putin told the African leaders.
It is, since the war issue, how Russia has managed to get closer to African countries, especially through the Wagner group. Paramilitaries offer security services and exploit natural resources in nations where the West has been rejected.
The leaders of these states have had kind words for Putin during the summit, both for Soviet aid in the 20th century, and for the most recent collaborations, after coups, where the protesters had displayed Russian flags.
This is the case of Assimi Goita, leader of Mali, who thanked Putin for his “support and friendship.” It was not the only praise. Faustin Archange Touadera, president of the Central African Republic, asserted that Russia had saved its democracy and avoided a civil war.
With Reuters, AP and EFE
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