Both French President Emmanuel Macron and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov have been on African tours in the past week.
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One in three Africans has too little food, according to a recent report from the International Committee of the Red Cross. Africa has been hit hard by the price increases for fertilizers and fuel.
At the same time that Lavrov landed on the continent, he published an article in which he stated that the West is responsible for the global food crisis.
On his trip, Macron, for his part, has accused Russia of using food as a weapon. He has rejected the Russian narrative that it is the Western sanctions that are the problem.
After the invasion of Ukraine, many countries have turned their backs on Russia, and the Russian foreign minister’s trip is of course about gathering support. The old Soviet regime once had good relations with many countries in Africa, and Moscow is now trying to recreate its support on this continent.
–Among what Lavrov can offer the African leaders is the paramilitary group that was sent against Kyiv in February to kill President Zelensky. They came from the Central African Republic and have also been used for warfare in Mali.
Lavrov has noted with satisfaction the “responsible and balanced” attitude to the Ukraine war in many African countries on his tour.
17 African countries abstained when the UN was to vote in March on condemnation of the Russian invasion – which was supported by 141 out of 193 countries. Of the only four countries that supported Russia’s no to condemnation, Eritrea was.
–While President Macron has visited Cameroon, Benin and Guinea-Bissau, Sergey Lavrov has been to Egypt, Congo, Uganda and Ethiopia.
The last visit is the most startling. Addis Ababa has traditionally been friends of the West. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali was the darling of the West and even received the Nobel Peace Prize. Now Russia is trying to exploit the conflict that has arisen with the West as a result of accusations that Ethiopian security forces have committed war crimes in the civil war.
With Russia’s foreign minister on the loose, there are forces that believe that the EU must now reconsider its cool attitude towards cooperation with Addis Ababa – despite the serious accusations against the regime. But this is not the way to go. In difficult times, it is all the more important to stand firm on the international legal order, and the values that underlie it.
Moscow is frantically looking for new friends, also in Africa. The West must keep up with the class.
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