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African dignitaries met Russian President Vladimir Poutine in St Petersburg for the second edition of the Russia-Africa Summit on July 27th. Growing pressure from US and EU diplomats to stand against the war in Ukraine has raised concerns. According to some reports, only 17 heads of state are attending the summit
African dignitaries met Russian President Vladimir Poutine in St Petersburg for the second edition of the Russia-Africa Summit on July 27th. Growing pressure from US and EU diplomats to stand against the war in Ukraine has raised concerns. According to some reports, only 17 heads of state are attending the summit. The rest are represented by senior functionaries. This war was started, according to the Russian side, with NATO’s expansion plans to the east.
US ambassador to NATO, Julianne Smith strongly refuted this idea asserting that NATO was providing some important non-lethal support to friends in Ukraine and said NATO Alliance was not training Ukrainian soldiers, adding that such decisions were stemming from their own sovereign status. It is reported that 17 heads of state out of the intended 43 were in St Petersburg. The US sees the absence of the remaining countries as a signal to dissociate from Russia. Julianne Smith further added that some African heads of state were in St Petersburg to express their concern about Russia’s unprovoked aggression in Ukraine as Russia has recently terminated the Black Sea grain deal which many believe will negatively impact certain African nations. NATO’s presence in Africa is quite subtle.
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Apart from the pragmatic cooperation between the African Union and the alliance, the North Atlantic Treaty organization’s heritage on the continent seems to be one of a destructive alliance, according to some. NATO played a key role in the Libyan Arab Spring back in 2011 when they ousted its strongman Muammar Gaddafi.
