KYIV: Kyiv intends to invest considerable political capital to deepen relations with African nations to counter Russia’s influence on the continent, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said.
In an interview with AFP, Kuleba said that they are starting from scratch in Africa to build relations. This continent is in need of systematic and long-term work. It is a thing which would take time.
The Kremlin has deep partnerships with many nations in Africa that date to the Soviet era but it has ramped up efforts to strengthened relations on the continent since becoming isolated from Western nations over the Ukraine war.
Kuleba compared Kyiv’s push to bolster relations with governments on the continent to a diplomatic “counteroffensive” against Moscow’s efforts.
Ukraine’s strategy for ties
He said that Kyiv’s strategy is not to replace Moscow but to free Africa from Russia’s grip. Ukraine desired to approach those diplomatic interactions with respect and with the principal of mutual benefit.
He added that this was in contrast to Moscow’s approach. Kuleba believed the Russia’s most powerful exports to the region were fighters from the mercenary group Wagner and “propaganda”.
He said that Russia is trying very hard to keep states in its orbit through coercion, fear, and bribery. It has two tools for its work in the continent, the most powerful ones are Wagner and propaganda.
Wagner has partnered with several African contries including the Central African Republic and Mali, leading to wide allegations of abuses by rights groups and Western governments.
Its leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, a former Kremlin ally who created differences with authorities after trying to topple the senior military leadership in Russia, has been sanctioned by the West for what they accuse is the group’s destructive role on the continent.
Kuleba also said that Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s publicly expressed concerns about food security in Africa are baseless, given Russia’s exit from the Black Sea grain agreement.
The deal was brokered last year by the UN and Turkiye, and allowed nearly 33 million tonnes of grain to leave Ukrainian ports, helping to stabilise global food rates and avert shortages. Russia exited the deal last month.
