Page 36 - bne Magazine August 2022

36 I Cover story bne August 2022
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov poses with Mali’s Ambassador to Russia at a reception in MoscowImage by picture alliance/dpa/Russian Foreign Ministry ©
good relations with the West, but at the same time not damaging their relations with the Kremlin.
Breaking out of isolation
Russia has been preparing the ground for a break with the West
for several years and has launched
a diplomatic drive to improve its relations in the non-aligned and Global South countries. It has invested heavily in improving ties with the Middle East, focusing on Syria and Iran, but has always enjoyed good relations with Israel as well.
China has been the keystone of its relations in Asia, but relations with countries like Vietnam have also significantly improved, with the help of arms exports.
But it is probably in Africa that Russia has made the most progress. In 2019, Russia launched the Russia-Africa summit that saw leaders from 49
of Africa’s 54 countries attend. The next two summits were cancelled due to the global pandemic, but the following summit was due to happen this November in Addis
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Ababa, until Russia postponed it until 2023 because of uncertainties owing to the war in Ukraine.
The first summit was a great success, co-hosted by Putin and Egypt’s el-Sisi. The Russian-Africa summit has become even more significant as Russia turns to the Global South for deeper ties. The event was likely cancelled as African nations still need to play their balancing game between East and West, and making long-term policy commitments while Russia is still in
a proxy war with the West would be very difficult for most African leaders.
The West has sought to isolate Moscow and make it a pariah following the latter's attack on Ukraine and Lavrov’s tour is designed to show that Russia still has friends, especially in the Global South. The welcome he received on his tour has shown the strength of the Kremlin’s influence
on the continent, where many countries are interested in the material help Moscow can offer them.
Moreover, as bne IntelliNews has reported, the prevailing attitude outside
the developed world is that the conflict in Ukraine is a clash between Europeans that has little to do with them. On top of that, the decision by Washington
and Brussels to weaponise both money and trade in the conflict has unsettled the emerging markets leaders, who see Russia as a useful counterweight to the US, should they ever clash with the US themselves – a feeling that is particularly poignant in the Middle East, which has been a target for US missiles on occasion in the past.
Lavrov was warmly received by the Republic of Congo’s long-time leader Denis Sassou Nguesso on Monday, July 25 as well as by Egypt’s el-Sisi
a day earlier. He was playing to a willing audience and during his meeting with Demeke Mekonnen, his Ethiopian counterpart, he told Izvestia that the ministers had discussed the impact of the food crisis on Africa and had promised to work together to find a solution.
In Uganda, President Yoweri Museveni was also seeking to play Russia
off against the US to the country’s advantage, but this is a game that the