Lavrov in Egypt wants to rally support for the war in Ukraine and is to blame for the problems of the West’s food products
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Photographer, AFP
Meeting of representatives of foreign affairs of Egypt and Russia, Cairo, July 24
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has embarked on a tour of Africa to rally support for a war in Ukraine that Russia has been considering for five months now.
Egypt is the first country of this short travel episode. Next Sergey Lavrov intends to visit Ethiopia, Uganda and the Republic of the Congo.
In an article published by an American newspaper on the eve of this tour, Lavrov said that Russia has always “sincerely supported the Africans in the struggle for freedom from the colonial yoke.” He also added that Moscow appreciates the “balanced lockdown” of Africans on the Ukraine issue.
In Cairo, Lavrov met with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shukri. At a joint press conference after the termination of the agreement, Shukri said that a decision could be made on an early “Ukraine crisis”, which has greatly affected global food security and energy prices and disrupted regulated chains.
Photographer, Getty Images
Joint press conference of Lavrov and Shukri. It is unlikely that an African country will become accessible to Russia
Lavrov also said that in bilateral relations between Egypt, fruitful development is observed, settled on an increase in trade between the two countries by four billion dollars, that is, by 5% compared to last year.
Egypt has a strong connection with Russia, which supplies it with wheat, weapons and – before the start of the war in Ukraine – a large number of tourists.
However, the main concern for Egypt and other African countries is the lack of an executive body.
According to the African Development Bank, Ukraine and Russia typically supply more than 40% of wheat to the continent. It imported 3.62 million tons in 2019, more than any other country.
However, Sergei Lavrov, in an article preceding his visit, dismissed accusations that Russia was “exporting famine,” blaming Western propaganda for them.
He added that Western sanctions imposed on Russia have exacerbated “negative investigations” into the discovery of food items linked to the influenza pandemic.
Photographer, Reuters
Sergey Lavrov in Cairo
The Russian Foreign Minister decided to conclude an agreement on the export of imports from Ukrainian ports, which was signed in Istanbul, and announced that the West should cancel the call with the intention of exporting food from Russia and unblock wheat exports to Russia.
This message can be received with skepticism, given that Russia acknowledged the shelling of the Odessa port, where large stocks of export wheat were copied, after the signing of the Istanbul agreement.
At the same time, Lavrov added at a joint press conference that, with regard to the agreement on the export of Ukrainian wheat, Russia “does not have any prejudice against resuming specifics on a more characteristic range of issues, but the matter does not depend on us” .
He also stated: “We feel sorry for the Ukrainian people, who can have much more. Ukraine has become the eternal enemy of Russia… The Russian and Ukrainian people continue to live together.
In this, according to him, the Ukrainians are encouraged by their “Western curators”, including London, Washington, the EU and NATO.
Russia wants to rule over African countries’ unwillingness to take sides
Commentary by Will Ross, Region Editora BBC World Service go
Photographer, Luke Dray
The largest bakery in Uganda was forced to increase the price of its products due to a sharp rise in the cost of wheat
Sergei Lavrov confronted the African country that they would rather side with Russia than the West, using phrases like “we will meet you to achieve the process of decolonization.”
But most African countries are still reluctant to take sides in Russia’s war against Ukraine because they fear a Cold War situation that is having a profound effect on the entire continent, fueling conflict and slowing down economic development.
Right now, however, the biggest concern is the rising cost of food and fuel.
African leaders are well aware that when their citizens do not have enough to eat, they may very well deprive them of power.