Putin says the West is ‘enriching themselves fabulously’ at Africa’s expense and trying to drive Africans back into debt bondage
Russian President Vladimir Putin and African leaders tour an exhibition during the third Russia-Africa Economic and Humanitarian Forum in Moscow on Wednesday. Photo: Sputnik/Reuters
Russian President Vladimir Putin gives a speech during the Russia-Africa economic and humanitarian forum in Moscow on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters
President Vladimir Putin told African leaders on Wednesday that Russia was their best partner, accusing what he cast as a colonial West of still trying to exploit the continent’s resources and using debt to hold back development.
The Kremlin chief was speaking at the third Russia-Africa Summit in Moscow, a two-day event attended by African leaders and government delegations from 48 countries, during which he will hold one-on-one talks with many of the 22 individual African leaders attending on everything from trad
The event, first held in 2019, is part of a concerted push for Russian political, economic and military influence on a continent where paramilitary fighters from Russia’s Africa Corps remain active, as Russian state media and cultural institutions try to expand their footprint in Africa, and as Russian state companies try to expand their interests in everything from mining to power generation.
Wooing African leaders and others from the Global South has also been an important part of Moscow’s strategy to counterbalance pressure on the world stage from the West over Russia’s war in Ukraine
Africa is increasingly asserting itself as one of the key players in the global economy and politics. However, the emergence of a multipolar world is, of course, no easy task; it faces resistance from countries that are not prepared to accept this reality: those who are accustomed to thinking in terms of their colonial past and to enriching themselves fabulously,” Putin, whom Western critics regularly accuse of trying to leverage Africa’s colonial past to Moscow’s own benefit, told the summit.
He did not name the countries he had in mind, but went on to speak about what he called “active attempts by Western countries” to drive Africans back into debt bondage and to force them to accept much-needed financial resources on predatory terms, which he said slowed their long-term development.
