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Russia-Africa Summit

Putin hosts African leaders in St-Petersburg for the second Russia-Africa summit

The two-day Russia-Africa summit is to begin today, Thursday, in St. Petersburg. For Vladimir Putin, it will be a key moment as he attempts to build support in Africa while his international stature weakens. For African leaders, it could be a time to reinforce their own unity and speak with one voice. 

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Flags informing of the upcoming Russia-Africa summit fly in front of Saint Isaac's Cathedral in central Saint Petersburg, Russia, July 25, 2023.
Flags informing of the upcoming Russia-Africa summit fly in front of Saint Isaac's Cathedral in central Saint Petersburg, Russia, July 25, 2023. REUTERS - ANTON VAGANOV
By: Melissa Chemam with RFI
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Several African leaders are expected at the summit which takes place between Thursday and Friday in Vladimir Putin's native city.

The Kremlin said that 49 out of 54 African countries have confirmed their participation at the summit.

However, other sources say 38 have opted not to send their heads of state.

Second Africa-Russia summit

The summit is the second of its kind, after an inaugural summit held in 2019 in Sochi, in southern Russia.

"Today, Africa is asserting itself more confidently as one of the poles of the emerging multipolar world," Russian President Vladimir Putin said ahead of the event. 

The Russian presidency accused Western countries of trying to deter participants.

"Almost all African states have been subjected to unprecedented pressure," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday.

Despite the alleged pressures exerted by the US and EU on African countries to keep away, many African leaders have already arrived for the conference.

They include South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, one of Putin's allies in Africa.

The African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat has also arrived in St. Petersburg on Tuesday for the summit, as well as Ethiopia's Prime minister Abiy Ahmed.

The transitional president of Mali, Assimi Goita, Egypt's President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, Eritrea's President Isaias Afwerki, and Sudan's delegation led by Malik Agar, deputy head of the country's Sovereign Council, also arrived earlier in the week.

A notable absense will be the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Félix Tshisekedi, who's been a strong supporter of Ukraine since the beginning of the war.

Russia and Ukrainian grain

Putin will  discuss Ukraine with the leaders of African countries.

Dominating the agenda, however, is the recent end of the grain deal that had allowed Ukrainian grain exports to reach global markets, including Africa via the Black Sea.

Isolated on the international scene since launching the military campaign in Ukraine, Putin still has support in several African countries.

 "Today the partnership is constructive, confident and turned towards the future," Putin wrote on the Kremlin website.

"On 28 July, Vladimir Putin is scheduled to have a working lunch with a group of leaders of African states on Ukraine issues," the Kremlin said in a statement.

Putin is expected to make a "big statement" at the summit that will address the issue of food and fertilisers, according to Kremlin foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov. It is also expected to mention technolog and energy resources.

War and peace

For some experts, the summit  will also serve as an opportunity for African nations to bury their divisions on the Russia-Ukraine war. 

Senior lecturer in politics and international Relations in Leeds Beckett University, Olayinka Ajala, wrote in an article for The Conversation that to get anything tangible out of the summit, African leaders need to speak with one voice, on the Russia-Ukraine war and about the presence of Wagner group mercenaries on the continent.

On the first issue, Ukraine, African leaders have tried to weigh in on diplomatic efforts surrounding the conflict.

Last month, a delegation of African leaders visited Moscow and Kyiv to urge both sides to cease hostilities, but the initiative had little effect.

Since the start of the Ukraine offensive, Russia has sought to strengthen diplomatic and security ties with Africa.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has been on two tours of the continent this year to win over Africa leaders to Moscow's side.

He emphasised Russia's support against Western "imperialism".

When French President Emmanuel Macron accused Moscow of seeking the destabilisation" of Africa", Russia pointed to France's colonial past.

As for the Wagner mercenary group, while it has been a major player impacting security in Africa, its failed mutiny against Russia's military leadership last month has cast doubt on the future of the group's operations on the African continent.

Just this week, the NGO Human Rights Watch published a report on human rights' violation and the atrocious violence committed by Wagner in Mali. 

Next month  the BRICS summit is due to take place in Johannesburg in August.

Putin, who is the subject of an international arrest warrant for his actions in Ukraine, will not be attending in person.

 (with newswires) 

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