Final preparations are underway for the Russia-Africa summit, more than half of the continent's countries have confirmed their participation at the highest level. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told an online briefing on Friday.
"The preparations are in their final stages. We are in the homestretch. Almost all countries have confirmed their participation, at the highest level, not one, not two dozen, but more than half of the African countries have confirmed their participation," the minister said.
Meanwhile, Western countries, Lavrov noted, "are shamelessly pressuring African states, demanding every day that they either cancel their trip to the summit or reduce the level of their participation." "These are the manners of our Western colleagues," he added.
Lavrov added that the summit will include an economic forum and a media event. "An economic forum and a media event will take place on the margins of the leaders' summit. It will be a very rich event held at several venues. I am sure it will be interesting," he said.
According to Lavrov, "most countries [in Africa] will be represented at the highest level." "A major declaration is being prepared, a document that will set out plans for interaction between Russia and African states for the next several years," the minister said.
He added that the West should treat African countries "like adults," but representatives of the continent's states talk about brazen pressure on them. "Leave the rest of us alone, so to speak, the global majority - the countries of Asia, Africa, Latin America. Treat them as adults, respect their right to listen to Russia's assessments and the Western ones, and then decide independently what position to choose," Lavrov said, referring to representatives of the West. "I know, I've been in Africa a lot in the last couple of years, my colleagues tell me what kind of pressure they have to endure - absolutely brazen, cavalier and unceremonious," the Russian foreign minister pointed out.
Lavrov pointed out that Russia never demands anything, but simply explains its position, while the West puts pressure on African countries not to participate in the summit in July.
The second Russia-Africa summit and economic forum are scheduled for July 26-29 in St. Petersburg. The first event was held October 22-24, 2019, in Sochi under the slogan "For Peace, Security and Development."
GSV "Russia - Islamic world"
Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from TASS