Kremlin accuses West of sabotaging Russia-Africa Summit with Ruto set to skip the conference
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Kremlin accuses the US and its allies in the West of trying to sabotage Russia-Africa Summit
Kremlin accuses the US and its allies in the West of trying to sabotage Russia-Africa Summit.
The Kremlin said on Tuesday that the West, particularly the United States, was attempting to ruin the highly anticipated Russia-Africa summit later this week by exerting pressure on African nations to boycott it.
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 summit follows Moscow’s inaugural Russia-Africa summit in 2019 and is part of a determined effort to gain influence and business on a continent with various agreements anticipated to be signed at the event.
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.
However, Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, claimed on Tuesday that the West was attempting to undermine 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.”
Peskov said Russia’s event would be crucial to be able to discuss grain supplies and what he called Moscow’s responsible behaviour and efforts to support world markets.
Meanwhile, State House Spokesperson Hussein Mohamed on Wednesday, July 26 revealed that President William Ruto will not attend the Russia – Africa Summit.
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During a live briefing, the spokesperson highlighted that the decision was made in accordance with the African Union’s ongoing reforms regarding development engagements with other countries and continents.
“He (Ruto) will be represented by the organs of the Africa Union. This decision aligns with the stance of African Heads of State and Government, who believe that in order for Africa to engage in meaningful discussions with global partners.
“The President will therefore be represented in accordance with Decision 762 and he has informed the Chairperson of the AU accordingly” read the statement in part.
Mohamed added that Ruto was among the leaders who had been pushing for more structured talks between Africa and foreign powers.
President Ruto has been vocal in his criticism of how Africa has been previously treated in notable diplomatic forums.
To stem this, the Head of State has called for Africa and the respective regional blocs within the continent to send representatives instead of dispatching African leaders to such engagements.
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