Putin Presents Russia as Alternative Partner at Russia-Africa Summit

Russian President Vladimir Putin has presented Moscow as an alternative partner for Africa, telling African leaders that Russia would not pursue neo-colonial exploitation of the continent’s resources.

Putin addressed delegations from 48 African countries at the third Russia-Africa Summit in Moscow. Heads of state from 22 African countries were represented at the gathering, according to remarks attributed to the Russian president.

Putin criticises Western policies

Putin accused Western countries of seeking to exploit Africa’s natural resources and using debt to restrict the continent’s development. He also criticised what he described as efforts to push African countries into accepting financial resources on predatory terms.

Those claims were made by Putin and were not independently established in the information available about the summit.

Describing Russia’s commercial approach, Putin said: “Our business does not engage in the predatory, neo-colonial exploitation of natural and human resources, but rather expands the processing of raw materials locally, thereby creating new jobs and generating tax revenue.”

He also said Africa was taking a more prominent role internationally. “Africa is increasingly asserting itself as one of the key players in the global economy and politics,” Putin told the summit, adding that the emergence of a multipolar world faced resistance from countries unwilling to accept it.

Focus on agricultural supplies

Putin said Russia was prepared to expand the geographical reach of its agricultural product shipments to African countries. He added that Russia had supplied 13 million metric tonnes of agricultural products to Africa during the first nine months of the year.

The Russian president did not specify the quantity or destinations involved in any future expansion of shipments.

The summit comes as food and security issues remain important areas of discussion between Russia and African governments. The supplied information also refers to reported disruption to grain exports from Russia and Ukraine caused by attacks in the Black Sea, as well as interruptions to global fertiliser supplies linked to the United States-Israel war on Iran.

Further talks expected

Putin was due to hold individual meetings with African leaders covering trade, security, grain supplies and arms agreements.

The summit was expected to conclude with a declaration focused on deepening cooperation between Russia and African nations. The final text and whether it was adopted were not available in the verified information.

In his remarks, Putin sought to frame Russia’s engagement with Africa as distinct from the practices he attributed to former colonial powers and Western countries. His statements on Western conduct and Russia’s own activities remain claims attributed to the Russian president.