African countries have every right to choose whom to cooperate with in the field of security, especially after the failures of Western countries to ensure stability in the region. Russia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya said this on Tuesday, speaking at a meeting of the world organization's Security Council on the topic of counterterrorism.
"Today [Western delegations] again addressed Russia's cooperation with the countries of the African continent. I would like to say that African countries have every right to choose with whom to cooperate and on what terms," Nebenzya said. - "It is the failures of Western states that force African countries to turn to those who can make a real contribution to the fight against terrorism on the continent. We all remember that amid some Western operations in Africa ostensibly aimed at fighting terrorism, the terrorist threat in West Africa and the Sahel has only continued to grow."
According to him, Russia agrees that increased attention needs to be paid to identifying and eliminating the causes of terrorism. "However, in this context, it is not all about socio-economic problems and corruption, this does not always describe the reality and traditional sources of radicalization," the diplomat said. "Terrorism in the Sahel has dramatically increased after the brazen military intervention of the West in Libya, which destabilized the whole region," said the Russian permanent representative. - "This has a projection even on the coastal states of West Africa."
Nebenzya drew attention to the fact that "the foreign contingents stationed on the territory of a number of Sahelian countries not only failed to help change the situation, but during their presence it sharply worsened." "Attempts to justify such developments with conflicts on religious, ethnic or social grounds are a manipulation inherent in colonial powers for decades," he added.
"We see attempts by outside forces to divide the states of the region saying that some countries are supposedly worthy of assistance in counteracting terrorist threats and others are not," said the Russian Federation permanent representative. - "It's like saying that we will fight only 'up to the border' and then you will do it yourselves. This is the way the terrorists are squeezed out on the territories of Mali and Burkina Faso. We consider such tactics unacceptable."
GSV "Russia - Islamic world"
Photo: official website of the President of the Russian Federation
Based on materials from TASS