The Kremlin on Tuesday accused the West, and in particular the United States, of trying to sabotage its showcase Russia-Africa summit later this week by pressuring African countries not to take part, SIA refers to foreign media.
The summit, which will take place in St Petersburg on Thursday and Friday, will be attended by President Vladimir Putin who is expected to hold intensive one-on-one talks with individual African leaders focusing on everything from trade to security, arms deals, and grain supplies.
The event, which is expected to see various agreements signed, follows Moscow’s first Russia-Africa summit in 2019 and is part of a concerted push for influence and business on a continent where mercenaries from Russia’s Wagner Group remain active despite an abortive mutiny at home last month.
Forty-nine African delegations have confirmed their participation, around half of whom will be represented by their heads of state or government, Russian diplomat Alexander Polyakov was cited as saying by the state TASS news agency earlier this month.
But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that the West was doing its best to wreck the Russian event.
“Virtually all African states have been subjected to unprecedented pressure from the U.S., and French embassies on the ground have not been sleeping either along with other Western missions who are also trying to do their bit to prevent this summit from taking place,” Peskov told reporters.
“In essence, they do not accept the sovereign right of African states to independently determine their partners for co-operation and mutual interaction in various fields.”
U.S. President Joe Biden hosted a U.S.-Africa leaders summit in Washington last year, seeking to bolster alliances amid growing Russian and Chinese presence on the continent.
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