Moscow/Rabat (EFE) He visited Mali, arrived in Mauritania today and will close his journey in Sudan.
«Like our friends in Mali and the vast majority of African countries, we believe that the ancient metropolises should forget how they conquered and exploited these territories, this continent. They must accept that the world has changed,” Lavrov said during his stay in Bamako, the Malian capital.
This is Lavrov’s second tour to the African continent since the beginning of the year, having traveled to South Africa, Angola, Eritrea and Eswatini in January, raising jitters in Western capitals.
Putin to chair summit with Africa
Before traveling to South Africa, Lavrov already stressed that Africa would be one of the keys to the reorientation of Russian foreign policy due to the antagonism with the West over the Russian military campaign in Ukraine.
In fact, there is already a date for the second Russia-Africa summit, which will be held in July in Saint Petersburg, the hometown of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and will focus, among other things, on food security, according to the minister. .
Moscow is taking advantage of long-standing friendly ties with the allies of the Soviet Union, which openly supported national liberation movements during the Cold War, but also new formats and non-governmental actors.
This is the case of the Wagner mercenary group, which has been very active for years in countries such as the Central African Republic, Sudan, Mozambique or Libya.
Wagner was recently accused by the US of undermining the independence of African countries in order to collect “illicit gains” that would serve to prop up his military operations in Ukraine.
grain and weapons
African governments are interested in both Russian grain and its weapons. In fact, this topic dominated the agenda of Lavrov’s conversations.
In an attempt to alleviate the food crisis, Putin went so far as to promise free grain to the most needy countries in the middle of last year, although the head of Russian diplomacy accused the West in Johannesburg of obstructing those supplies.
At the military level, Russian, Chinese and South African ships will carry out joint naval maneuvers off the eastern coast of South Africa at the end of this month.
In addition, Lavrov will close his current tour in Sudan, where Putin ordered in 2020 to sign an agreement with the authorities of that country in the Horn of Africa to open a naval base in the Red Sea.
However, the signing of the treaty for the first Russian military base on the continent is delayed, as the new authorities resulting from last October’s military coup do not seem to want to antagonize the West.
Lavrov supports the Malian military junta
Lavrov also discussed military cooperation with the Malian Junta, whose Foreign Minister, Abdoulaye Diop, visited Moscow last year.
He stressed that in mid-January the second consignment of Russian planes, including Su-25 fighters, Mi-8 helicopters and tactical transport planes, arrived in Bamako.
In May 2022, Bamako broke in favor of Russia the defense cooperation treaty that it signed in 2014 with France, which accuses the authorities of perpetrating abuses against civilians.
«We must improve our defensive potential, especially in aviation material and Russia responds to our requests. As far as France is concerned, we prefer to cooperate with Russia, as she has brought peace to our country. Cooperation does not respond to our interests, “said Diop emphatically.
Sahel, an oasis of loyalties
Within the framework of this attempt to seek allies for the cause in the Sahel, Lavrov visited Mauritania for the first time today, where he was received by the president, Mohamed uld Cheij El Ghazuani, whom he guaranteed that he would satisfy his needs for fertilizers, grain and hydrocarbons. .
“It is clear that Russia attaches increasing importance to the Sahel region that it disputes with France,” Ahmed uld Maaloum, president of the Mauritanian Journalists Union, told Efe.
The spearhead of this tour is “undoubtedly” Mali, but Mauritania is of paramount importance for regional security.
And it is that the analyst recalls that Mauritania, whose Defense Minister signed military agreements in Moscow in 2022, is the only country in the Sahel whose borders are completely secure against the terrorist threat.
According to Malian analyst Alex Kalambry, Moscow does not want to limit itself to military and security cooperation and also seeks to participate in mining, energy and infrastructure projects.
Upon landing in the region, Lavrov denounced “unprecedented pressure” on African countries to condemn “the special military operation” in Ukraine.