Russia is seeking allies and expanding its influence abroad as its war in Ukraine drags on. African governments, meanwhile, are cozying up to the Kremlin for reasons of their own.
As he hosted the third Russia-Africa Summit in Moscow this week, President Vladimir Putin portrayed Russia as a better partner for Africa than the West, which he accused of exploiting the continent’s resources, maintaining a colonial approach and using debt to hold back development. Russia, he argued, offered a different model of cooperation, one which allowed both parties to prosper through closer ties in trade and technology.
