Lavrov flexes diplomatic muscle in Africa

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is on a tour of Africa seeking to rally support and convey Russia's version of events regarding the invasion of Ukraine and the global food crisis, as well as to prepare for the Russia-Africa Summit in 2023. After visiting Egypt and the Republic of Congo, the head of Russian diplomacy is currently in Uganda, on a tour that will end in Ethiopia, seeking to strengthen Moscow's presence in Africa. 

The head of Russian diplomacy arrived on the African continent last Saturday with a visit to Cairo, where he met with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry. The two diplomats discussed the issue of grain, which is vital for a country that imports between 11 and 13 million tonnes of wheat annually, half of its needs. International food prices are currently soaring, endangering the food security of Third World countries. This increase began even before the war, which, in the face of Russian blockades of Ukrainian grain and Western sanctions, has pushed prices even higher.  

Here, the Russian threw the baby out with the bathwater, claiming that the Kremlin was not to blame for the crisis. At the same time, he asserted that Moscow was ready to "fulfil all its obligations", while reaffirming that the Ukrainian grain blockade has been resolved by the agreement with Turkey. Lavrov made no mention of the recent Russian attack on the port of Odessa a day after the deal, the main gateway for Ukrainian grain to the outside world, while the Russian Defence Ministry claimed that only military targets had been hit. In addition, Lavrov also tried to convey to Shoukry the reasons for the invasion, and the two diplomats discussed other issues, from the war in Libya and Syria to possible Egyptian participation in the BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

Also in Cairo, the head of Russian diplomacy visited the Arab League headquarters. After a meeting with Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit, where, according to the Russian press release, they exchanged views on the wars in Libya, Syria and Yemen, as well as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Lavrov gave a speech to the representatives of the countries of the Arab League, explaining in detail in a long speech the Russian version of events in Ukraine and the food crisis.  

Here, the minister, a few days after claiming that the aims of Russia's invasion were no longer confined to the Donbas, noted that Russia "is determined to help the people of eastern Ukraine to free themselves from the burden of this unacceptable regime [the Ukrainian government]", and claimed that accusations that Russia was responsible for the food crisis were nothing more than "fake news".  

After his stay in the Egyptian capital, Lavrov headed to Brazzaville, becoming the first Russian or Soviet foreign minister to visit the Republic of Congo. Here, Lavrov met with his counterpart, Jean-Claude Gakosso, where, according to the Russian press release, the Eurasian power's representative "briefed him in detail" on the objectives of what Moscow calls the "special military operation to protect the Donbas republics". At the same time, Lavrov praised the Congolese initiative to hold a Libyan national reconciliation conference, and discussed with his counterpart the organisation of the Second Russia-Africa Summit, to be held in 2023, four years after Vladimir Putin hosted African leaders in Sochi.

After Congo, Lavrov is visiting Uganda on Tuesday, with a similar agenda. He will then fly to Addis Ababa, where he will meet his Ethiopian counterpart and visit the African Union headquarters. The AU president, as well as Senegal's Macky Sall, did the same a few weeks earlier, meeting Putin in the Kremlin. 

In recent years, the Kremlin has experienced an awakening of its presence on the African continent after years of neglect following the fall of the Soviet Union. Taking advantage of the USSR's positive vision in these countries by actively supporting decolonisation, the Eurasian power has repositioned itself as one of the main foreign actors in Africa. 

While the economic wing of the relationship is limited, Russia has been building close relations with several of the continent's major countries, such as South Africa, Senegal and Egypt. In addition, punching above its weight, Moscow has crept into a number of geopolitical arenas using low-cost means, a favourite of which has been the mercenary group Wagner. Under the leadership of Yevgeni Prigozhin, the Russian president's most trusted confidant and even known as 'Putin's Chef' for having worked in the Kremlin's catering business, Wagner has intervened in a myriad of theatres, from the Central African Republic to Libya, and is now rapidly gaining a presence in the Sahel.

Now, drawing on its renewed position and past Soviet presence, where it was key to decolonisation, Moscow is now flexing its diplomatic muscle and trying to find fertile ground for its narratives in the Global South to weather the storm of Western pressure over the invasion of Ukraine. "It is very clear that [...] Lavrov is reaching out to other countries to try to stem the tide of outrage against Russia," US State Department spokesman Ned Price said.  

In an article signed by Lavrov himself for local press in Egypt, Congo, Uganda and Ethiopia, the minister emphasised this goal, welcoming the fact that African capitals have not joined Western efforts to confront Russian actions against Ukraine. "We appreciate the considered African position regarding the situation in and around Ukraine," the head of Russian diplomacy wrote. "We know that our African colleagues do not approve of undisguised attempts by the United States and its European satellites to take the lead and impose a unipolar world order." Most African countries have refrained from criticising Russia, and Lavrov now seeks to convince them to continue to maintain what he called their "independent path". 

Earlier, European diplomacy chief Josep Borrell said that the battle for the global narrative on the war was 'in full swing', and that the West is 'not winning' at the moment.