Isolated internationally and authority tested by a failed mutiny, Russia hosted African leaders for a summit in his native Saint Petersburg to project normalcy and display support from its allies.
Seventeen African leaders including South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Senegal President Macky Sall, Comoros President Azali Assoumani, who is the current chairman of the African Union are expected to participate at the summit on Thursday and Friday.
The summit is the second of its kind after an inaugural one held in 2019 in Sochi, southern Russia.
Why is the Conference Significant?
During the summit, Putin is expected to conduct bilateral talks with his counterparts and will deliver an address at the plenary session. He will also have his chance to dazzle his African guests with the stately beauty of his home city St. Petersburg.
The meeting will take place at an exhibition center near two of Russia’s most extravagant imperial palaces. Report said that retired African soccer stars are being flown in for a gala match involving elite former Russian players.
Putin is likely to discuss his vision of Russia-Africa ties and the “formation of a new world order”, Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov said.
Some African countries have a long relationship with the Soviet Union. After the bloc collapsed in 1991, the ties continued with Russia, with many African countries importing weapons and military training from Russia. Nations like Eritrea and Mali, isolated from the global community, have found ally in Russia.
However, in more than one and a half years since Russia started its aggression in Ukraine, Africa has emerged as the most sympathetic bloc toward Russia and has also supported in international platforms including the United Nations.
In a vote in February last year calling Russia to “immediately cease its use of force against Ukraine”, 22 of the African Union’s 54 members including Algeria, Angola, and South Africa abstained or did not vote. Eritrea and Mali voted against the resolution.
Some African countries have not only backed Putin at the UN, but also welcomed his envoys, warships, and offered control of assets including a gold mine in the Central African Republic.
The Central African Republic offered a gold mine to the Wagner group, which is estimated to have $1 billion in reserves, according to a report in Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Russia also displaced China to become the largest arms supplier to sub-Saharan Africa between 2018 to 2022, providing 26 percent of all arms imports, a report in The New York Times said.
Meanwhile, Russia has also deployed Wagner mercenaries in Central African Republic, Libya, Mali and Sudan. Putin has broadened Russian ties with African nations, especially after the Ukraine invasion, as Western countries shunned him, the report added.
Challenges to Ties
The summit comes in the backdrop of escalating tensions after Russia pulled out of the Black Sea grain deal. Russia’s withdrawal has caused food prices to spike, affecting the poorest countries, including those in Africa.
However, the Ukraine war is also straining Russian ties with Africa. Only 21 African members are set to participate in the summit, which is half the number of participants in the 2019 summit, where 45 African heads of state attended.
Russia has blamed the low attendance to the American interference. The West has seized the Russian grain deal as an opportunity to drive a wedge between Putin and the African allies.
Kremlin’s spokesman Dmitri S Peskov said that the lower turnout was due to the “absolutely overt and brazen interference of the United States, France and other governments through their diplomatic representatives in African countries.”
Wagner Group
Russia’s Wagner group has been a significant player in the security sphere in Africa but the failed mutiny against the Kremlin leadership last month has cast doubt on the future of the group’s operations in the continent.
Wagner soldiers are deployed in African countries including Central African Republic and Mali, where they have control of gold mines and diamonds and helps in return for supporting groups and regimes.
While the grain politics is set to dominate the summit, some African leaders are expected to press Putin on the fate of Wagner.
According to reports, Putin will personally assure African partners that their partnership with Russia is not going to get affected, irrespective of what happens to Wagner.
AFP contributed to this report
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