The limits of the Conflict between Russia and the West do not only stand on influence and interests, at their burning points of contact in Ukraine and Eastern Europe, but extend to farther geographical points in the world, experts say.
In this context, followers of Russia's quest to open up more to the countries of the African continent and expand the network of common interests with them, as part of Russia's attempts to contain the Western blockade, and in this context a Russian-African summit took place on Friday in the Russian city of Sochi.
Senegalese President Maki Sall, who is also president of the African Union for 2022, arrived in Russia after being elected in February during the 35th session of the African Union to meet his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.
"I would like to mention that our country has always been on Africa's side, and its support in the fight against colonialism, we are in a new phase of development and we attach importance to our relations with African countries," Putin said after meeting with Sal.
He noted that the volume of trade between Russia and Africa has increased by more than 34 percent since the beginning of this year.
The African Union president said sanctions against Russia have denied African countries access to grain and fertilizers, exacerbating africa's food security problem.
"The sanctions imposed on Russia have increased suffering and made the situation worse, because we are no longer able to access grain, especially Russian wheat and, most importantly, fertilizers, which pose a serious threat to food security on our continent," he said.
Sal later announced Friday that he had come out "reassured" by the meeting with Putin, telling reporters: "We get out of here very reassured and very pleased with our talks," adding that he found the Russian president "committed and aware that the sanctions crisis is causing serious problems for vulnerable economies such as African economies."
Sal stressed during the meeting that African countries are suffering from the repercussions of the war in Ukraine, although "the majority of African countries avoided condemning Russia" during the vote in the Security Council and the United Nations, and that with "Asia and the Middle East as well as Latin America, a large part of humanity preferred to stay out of this conflict."
He said the turmoil in African and global food security and war-induced supply chains has been exacerbated by Western sanctions affecting Russia's logistics, trade and financial networks, calling for the food sector to be removed from the framework of Western sanctions against Moscow.
Observers believe that the chances of success of Russia's effort to strengthen Moscow's role and presence on the African scene in light of the international lyrical tensions and alignments over the impact of the Ukraine crisis appear strong given the wide range of areas and frameworks of cooperation and exchange between the two sides, which are provided by the historical backgrounds of the active Russian role on the black continent, and the strong and traditional relations that used to bind the former Soviet Union to many countries of the continent of Africa.
Followers also point out that Africa is already suffering from severe problems and crises and a political, development and security vehicle, but it remains pregnant with promising opportunities with its great human and natural energies, and its geostrategic biosphere among the continents and regions of the world.
Eyes on Africa
Commenting on the significance of the escalating pace of Russian-African yarn and its implications for the Ukrainian crisis and the scene of the frantic rivalry and confrontation between Russia and the Western countries, Mohamed Saleh al-Harbi, a researcher on international relations and a strategic and security expert, said in an interview with Sky News Arabia: "Africa is a very important continent, without a doubt, and everyone is the same for Africa, being the heart of the world, and here we just remember a saying by Ben Gurion who was saying, that the road to Africa is the way to the world."
"Moscow's influence and presence in Africa have been steadily increasing since 2014, particularly after the control of Crimea, which triggered a crisis that almost developed into a circle-like war about four months ago between Moscow and Kiev, and generally observes over the past decade how Russian influence and penetration directly and indirectly in Africa marked a milestone in the landscape of international relations and player competition," the strategist said. adults on areas of influence and control."
As talk grows on the impact of the Ukrainian war on the suffocating food crisis and the risk of famine, al-Harbi explains, "the African continent, with its skilled competencies and manpower, vast areas and fertile land suitable for the development of agriculture and investment in its various productive and industrial sectors, can play an important role in sparing the world the spectre of its current crises worsening more than it does, and it is almost a food basket for the whole world if it is"Its capabilities and wealth are properly and productively employed, as well as its highly geopolitically important location as the world's second largest continent after Asia' population and area, overlooking strategic oceans, seas and water straits."
"Now, international investment from different regions of the world will flow to Africa, which will become a magnet in light of the suffocating food crisis left by the Russian and Ukrainian wars, and to compensate for the huge shortage of products and stocks of strategic food commodities globally, particularly cereals and grains, which directly threatens global food security, and these Russian trends naturally fall into these contexts," al-Harbi said.
Before the talks between the Russian and African leaders began, the Kremlin said it would include issues of economic and humanitarian interaction and cooperation between Russia and African countries, and the talks would include issues of the supply of fertilizers, grains and food.
According to the Kremlin, russian President Vladimir Putin, African Union President Maki Sall, president of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mohamed, also participated in the talks.
Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated African heads of state and government on Africa Day on May 25, stressing Russia's appreciation for its historic friendship with African partners.
Putin expressed Russia's appreciation for traditional friendship with African partners, stressing Moscow's unwavering support for their efforts to resolve local conflicts, combat terrorism, extremism, drug trafficking, epidemic diseases and other common challenges to regional and global security.
The last Russian-African summit was held in October 2019 in sochi, Russia, and was chaired by Then-Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.