"We don't want to be another Russia": Foreign Minister explains Ukraine's goal in talks with Africa

Ukraine does not seek to replace Russia in its "dominance" on the African continent. On the contrary, it wants to establish relations with African countries and help them free themselves from the Kremlin.

This was stated by Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in an interview with AFP. He noted that Russia uses "coercion, corruption and fear" to keep African countries under its control.

"We do not want to be another Russia. Our strategy is not to replace Russia, but to liberate Africa from Russian rule," Kuleba said.

The minister stressed that Moscow has only two powerful tools for working in Africa: propaganda and the Wagner PMC terrorist organisation.

For several years, Russia has been actively rapprochement with Africa, in particular through the "security services" provided by the Wagner PMC, in particular in Mali and the Central African Republic, presenting itself as a bulwark against "imperialism" and "Western neocolonialism".

Kuleba also called Moscow's concerns about Africa's food security after it withdrew from a grain deal that allowed 33 million tonnes of Ukrainian grain to be exported via the Black Sea despite Russia's invasion a lie.

"Africans have seen that all these stories Putin told about how he cares about African countries are lies... It is the Ukrainian farmer and the African bread consumer who pay the highest price," the minister said.

It is worth noting that Ukraine is currently building relations with Africa, hoping to enlist its support in the face of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. At the same time, Kyiv is seeking to weaken Moscow's "dominance" on the continent.

"Many years have been lost, but we are going to push forward the Ukrainian-African renaissance, to revive these relations," the minister said.

According to him, the continent needs systematic and long-term work.

It is worth noting that it was African countries that suffered the most from Russia's withdrawal from the grain deal. Putin cynically promised some countries free grain. Meanwhile, the Kremlin is planning to export grain to Africa that was stolen from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. The "free" grain that Russian dictator Putin "promised" to African countries after Russia withdrew from the "grain deal" will be stolen from the occupied territories in Zaporizhzhia.

As OBOZREVATEL previously reported:

The head of the African Union commented on Putin's promise to resolve the grain crisis. He said that the Russian dictator's promise to supply small batches of grain to six African countries free of charge would not solve the food crisis caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called Putin's "free grain" for several African countries "a handful of donations" that will not be able to fully eliminate the serious consequences of the termination of the "grain deal". Such a decision by the Russian Federation would lead to a large-scale price increase in many countries.

The US also reacted to Putin's statement about "free grain" for Africa. The State Department said that these statements by the Russian dictator would not save the situation.

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